


Shattered

by TheWalkingEvansworth



Category: Rick Grimes - Fandom, The Walking Dead, The Walking Dead (TV), The Walking Dead AU - Fandom, daryl dixon - Fandom
Genre: Drama, F/M, Gen, Horror, Romance, Walking Dead AU
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-15
Updated: 2017-10-22
Packaged: 2018-03-01 03:40:51
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 24,075
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2758220
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheWalkingEvansworth/pseuds/TheWalkingEvansworth
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Story begins at start of the apocalypse. Ellie Merrit, a 2nd grade school teacher with depression, anxiety and panic disorder and her family are evacuated from their small southern town when the outbreak hits after she witnesses horrific events at the school where she at her best friend Kirby Ewing teach. </p><p>Ellie along with her two sisters Reagan and Katie Jo have lived fairly sheltered lives and living in the woods while fighting for their lives is quite traumatic especially for Ellie who is struggling to fight against her mental illnesses and take care of her sisters and the rest of her family.</p><p>As they continue to struggle, they meet up with Rick's group who have just gone through a huge loss of their own. They are brought into the group, but welcomed reluctantly by some. Bonds continue to form and tragedy continues to find them.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> We don't like giving things away, it's why we don't have any archive warnings on this one, but due to the nature and content of this story, it may have several misc triggers so we're noting here of possible Trigger Warnings.

 

 Ellie took a deep breath as she unlocked the door to her classroom and turned on the lights. She looked down the hallway for one last reassuring smile from her best friend Kirby before stepping inside and heading over to her desk. She had a half an hour to prepare before her students started arriving for the day.

It had been a month exactly to the day since she’d been away from her second graders. It had been a month to the day since _the mishap_ too. _The_ _mishap._ That was the only way her mother would refer to her suicide attempt. It’s not that she wanted to die exactly, but she had just been so tired. Tired of the constant anxiety and the crippling attacks that accompanied it. Tired of the extreme lows and absence of any kind of feeling that intermingled with it. And tired of the constant worry that shrouded the sweet face of her sister Reagan, tired of feeling the annoyance from her other little sister Katie Jo, the constant disapproval from mother, and tired of feeling like a burden to her best friend Kirby.

If Reagan hadn’t found her when she did, then Ellie wouldn’t be here now. And though her time on the mental health unit at the hospital in Atlanta had only been two weeks, she still felt stronger than she had in a long time and she was thankful that she was still here.  And more than she’d ever felt before, she didn’t want to let her illness beat her.

Though, she wasn’t sure only two extra weeks was enough time off, she knew that getting back into her routine as quickly as possible was what she needed to do. But there was something different about today and she couldn’t shake the strange feeling of apprehension. It felt different than her typical feelings of anxiety and she confessed her fears to Kirby on their way to work that morning.

Ellie and Kirby both taught at the same school and had been best friends since childhood. They grew up in the same small Georgia town and went to the same college together in Atlanta; both returning to their hometown to teach at the elementary school they attended as children. Ellie started out teaching 5th but had been happily teaching 2nd grade for the past six years while Kirby was the Special Education teacher for the entire school. Since it was a small school, the grade level and number of students that Kirby handled fluctuated each year and it kept her incredibly busy. She had exceptional organizational skills and an instinctively caring and patient nature that made her a natural fit for the demanding position. And she had been Ellie’s rock and confidant from the day they met.

Kirby had been the only one who went to visit her every day while she was in the hospital.  Even after her long stressful workday, she would make the thirty-minute drive from Peach Springs into Atlanta for the sixty-minute visiting hour. Seeing Kirby’s face every day was a comfort to her, but Kirby also never minced words with her. She was always compassionate but she didn’t bull shit either and she reminded Ellie that she needed to put in the work herself in order to get better. And it was no different that morning when Kirby had put her at ease by telling her that she was probably just nervous about coming back to work and reassured Ellie that she would be fine. But Kirby did promise to come check on her in the middle of the day.

Still, Ellie couldn’t shake the odd feeling that had settled in her chest. Especially with all the strange stories that she’d been hearing on the news. It had gotten so bad, that she flat out refused to listen to them anymore. And it all sounded so outrageous, she couldn’t be sure it was even true. Ellie shook the thoughts from her mind then readjusted a bobby pin that had fallen out of the deliberately styled messy bun at the nape of her neck and tucked a stray flaxen strand of hair behind her ear.  She turned on her computer and checked over her lesson plans then pulled a folder of worksheets out of her canvas tote bag.

Just as she was setting the last packet of worksheets on one of the desks, the first bell rang indicating that students would begin arriving and she felt her heart rate quicken so she closed her eyes and took a few slow deep breaths. Her heart was still racing but she knew it was also from anticipation from getting to see her students again after such a long absence so she knew that she would  be able to cope as she head towards to the door to wait for them.

Her class greeted her with excited hugs and it took her several minutes to get them calmed down enough to get them to put their backpacks away. And then it took her another few minutes to get the excited children to their seats. She had finally gotten them settled and was just getting ready to start the day’s first lesson when there was a hurried tap at the door.

“Go ahead and get your crayons out of your desks boys and girls and start colorin’ page three in your packet.” Ellie instructed with her soft drawl as she walked towards the door. She was surprised to find Kirby’s tanned face and rich espresso eyes staring back at her through her thick dark lashes as Ellie opened the door just a crack. “You didn’t need to check on me already.” Ellie teased but her smile faded when she noticed the concerned look that clouded her best friend’s pretty face. “What’s goin’ on Kirby?”

“Adrian just came by my office.” Kirby began in low tones, referring to the school’s principal, Adrian Daniels. “I’m not sure what the hell is goin’ on but we’re evacuating the school.” Ellie’s electric blue eyes widened in alarm and Kirby squeezed her arm reassuringly. “El, it’s gonna be fine. You’re gonna be fine. He didn’t want to make an announcement over the PA and cause a freak out so a few of us are going room to room. Just get your kids out front. He was clueless about what we should do with them after we get out there and he won’t tell me what is happening so I’m gonna round up my kids and find the bus drivers.” She recognized the faraway look of an oncoming panic attack on Ellie’s face and forced her best friend to focus on her words. “Ellie, just get your kids outside. Ok?”

“Ok. But what about us?”

“We’ll get the kids taken care of and then we’ll meet by your truck. Ok?”

“Ok.” Ellie replied mechanically.

“Just get the kids outside and I’ll see you in a few minutes. Ok?”

Ellie gave a half smile and nodded. When Kirby felt certain that Ellie was going to comply, she stepped away from the door. “I’ll see you in a few minutes.” She gave Ellie a reassuring smile and then hurried across the hall to the other 2nd grade class. Ellie tried to ignore her mounting fear and she plastered on a smile as she turned back to her students.

“Alright, boys and girls, we’re gonna take a break from workin’ on our packets. Who are the line leaders this week?” Ellie surveyed the room, and watched as two hands shot eagerly into the air. “I want everyone in these two rows to line up quietly behind Macie and go stand by the door.” She waited while the children she selected had scurried over to the door and settled down. “Ok, now, I want the rest of you to quietly line up behind Eric.” Once all the kids were standing in two lines by the door, Ellie took another breath and walked over to join them. “Boys and Girls I want you to stay in line and stay with me.”

“Where we goin’, Miss Ellie?” a ginger haired little girl from the middle of the first line questioned and Ellie smiled reassuringly at her.

“We are gonna go outside and get on one of the school buses.”

“But I don’t ride the bus.” A little boy piped up.

“Is this a field trip?”

“Kinda.” Ellie answered as she began to lead them into the hall. “Now stay with me, ok?”

The hallway was full of other teachers leading their classes outside and she shared concerned looks with a few of the them as she began to lead the kids towards the front door, trying not to listen to the conversations going on around her.  

Ellie’s fingertips were going numb and her lips tingled as she tried to ignore her ever-increasing anxiety, which wasn’t helped by palatable tension in the air. Macie reached for her hand and Ellie gave her what she hoped was a comforting smile despite the terror that she felt herself.

Seconds later Ellie felt herself propelled into the wall from a blast from somewhere behind her. Her entire body instantly ached from the impact but she didn’t think she was seriously injured as she pulled herself into a sitting position and quickly looked over her frightened students; and tried to draw them closer to her. She was covered in dust and debris and when she looked up, the walls at the back of the school had crumbled. She could see flames licking at what remained of the back of the school through the thick cloud of dust. People were screaming, kids were crying, and through all the disorder, she thought she heard gunshots but she couldn’t be sure.  The teachers who had been in the hallway with her were all slowly getting to their feet and hurrying their students towards the entrance and Ellie did the same.

But outside there was even more chaos.  Small fires were burning everywhere; faculty and staff were running with kids in every direction. Macie grabbed Ellie’s hand again as she stood frozen, unsure of what to do.

Farther down by the playground she spotted two school busses and recognized Kirby’s thick deep brown waves cascading down her back as she was loading kids on one of the buses from the emergency entrance in the back. “Come on guys, let’s go this way.” Ellie said as she finally found her voice. Ellie kept her focus on the bus as Kirby got the last kid on and then climbed in herself and pulled the door shut. Having the goal of getting to Kirby anchored Ellie as she tried to console her frightened students while continuing to urge them forward.

Terror momentarily froze her as the bus started to drive away but Ellie continued towards the second bus, trying to ignore the ongoing madness that was around her.  She momentarily had to stop and turned to shield the kids as best she could when the windows from the school shattered as another explosion erupted. Macie and another child she wasn’t even sure who, clung tightly to her hands as they started to walk again.

But Ellie’s world seemed to shatter in an instant and she let go of both of the hands she was holding and fell to her knees as she watched the bus that was carrying her best friend blow up before her eyes. Even from this distance, she could feel the heat from the flames of the fire hit her face as the bus was completely engulfed. She hunched over, unable to watch anymore. She covered her ears as the cries and questions from her terrified students overwhelmed her.

Ellie could hear people yelling her name and this time she was certain she heard gunfire. She finally managed to stand; but her legs were wobbling so badly she immediately wanted to lie down. One of her students tugged on her shirt and she brushed them away unable to make herself look at any of their faces. “I can’t. I can’t do this. I’m so sorry.” She sobbed. Ellie covered her face with her hands and she took off towards the parking lot. “I’m sorry.” She repeated over and over as she continued to run on her unsteady feet, blinded by the tears that streamed down her face.

She managed to make it to her truck even though she tripped and fell twice. She felt under the bed for the spare key and with shaking hands unlocked the door and climbed into the cab. She sat there for several seconds, unable to catch her breath. She rested her face against the steering wheel as she continued to sob when the sound of another loud blast forced her upright. She jammed the key into the ignition and without another look back she maneuvered out of the parking lot and then floored it, flying through the first stop sign that she came to driving wildly en route to the safety of her father’s home.


	2. Chapter 2

Ellie nearly ran over her sister Reagan’s fiancé Curtis in the driveway and he held up his hands and jumped out of the way as she slammed on the brakes. She practically fell out of the cab when he opened up the door but kept a firm grip on her to keep her on feet. Her crying continued and she was blubbering incoherently about Kirby. Curtis hugged her for a moment then held her out at arm’s length while he checked her over for injuries.

“Are you hurt? I heard what happened at the school.”

 She wiped at her face and tried to force herself to calm down and shook her head. “I need to go out to the farm. I need to talk to Kirby’s dad. Will you go with me?”

“We can’t, Ellie.”

She angrily jerked away from him and started to climb back into the cab of her truck. “Walter needs to know what happened to Kirby.”

Curtis grasped her arm and firmly but gently pulled her away from her truck. He gave her an apologetic smile even though she was glaring hatefully at him while he slammed the door shut, keeping a grip on her arm until she stopped struggling against him. Curtis had a way about him that made people listen to him. His natural commanding personality had served him well during his years in the military and allowed him to rise quickly in rank. He’d just gotten home from his most recent tour and was staying with his parents who lived on the edge of town. Curtis also had a very sweet disposition and it was obvious to anyone that he adored Reagan. They’d known each other as long as Ellie could remember. He and Reagan were high school sweethearts and Ellie loved him like a brother. Ellie felt panic well up in her chest again when she saw true fear then grief flash through Curtis’ steel blue eyes.

“We can’t.” he repeated, “We don’t know what kinda shape they’re in.”

Ellie tilted her head, looking puzzled, “What are you talking about?”

“It’s real, El, I saw it with my own eyes-the shit they’ve been talkin’ about on the news. My parents,” his voice cracked and she saw tears fill his eyes and he quickly rubbed them which just made them redder. “They’re…gone.”

“What do you mean, gone?” Ellie questioned. Curtis raked his hand over his buzzed dark hair then down the side of his scruffy face.

“I was out mowing the lawn and when I went inside- my mom was hovering over my dad- and-her skin-.” His words came out broken as he tried to control his emotions. “I…haven’t told Reagan yet.”

Ellie’s lower lip trembled and she tried to blink away fresh tears. “I don’t even know what to say.”

His focus returned and bent down so that his 6-foot frame was at eye level with her. “We have to leave. I talked to some of my buddies, and this is bad, Ellie. There were a lot of families by the school that were infected with whatever this is-people freaked out and started attacking and I’ve been told that the army is movin’ in. We need to get outta here. A lot of the town has already lost power. This is bad, Ellie.” Ellie chewed on her bottom lip and started shaking her head, trying to keep from going into hysterics. All she wanted to do was curl up in a ball and wait for it to end. Her knees started to wobble and she had to hold onto the bed of the truck to stay upright. She could see Curtis’ lips moving and knew that he was still talking to her but she couldn’t make out anything he was saying. “Ellie. I need you, I know this fucking sucks but I need you ok?” He said, grasping her arms as his words finally came back into focus.  She wiped at her face but managed to nod at him. “Now, I’ve told your Dads a little and they’ve gone to get their camping gear, Tim too.” Even through the panic welling up in her chest she couldn’t help share a sigh with Curtis at the mention of her father’s other boyfriend, Tim.

When her parents divorced five years ago and her father revealed that he was gay it had been a surprise but Ellie, Reagan and Katie Jo loved Clay like a second father and he made their dad happy so it never really mattered much to them. Their dad and Clay even purchased the house across the street from their childhood home so their dad could stay close and keep their life as normal as possible. But just a few months after his and Clay’s commitment ceremony, their dad introduced everyone to his ‘friend’ Tim. Katie Jo seemed to be the only one who could tolerate Tim but he mostly gave Reagan and Ellie the creeps. “I’m not sure they get how serious this is, El. Run home and get just what you need, then I need you to hurry Reagan along. I’ve sent Tyler to get Katie Jo and your Mom from work.” He said, referring to her youngest sister’s boyfriend. “Can you think of anyone else I need to go get?”

“Aunt Etta.” Ellie replied and they both rolled their eyes. “She’s the only one of Kirby’s family in town.” Curtis nodded and squeezed her shoulder. “Just pack what you need and when your dads and Tim get back we have to go. Ellie, I need you to do this. I need you to help me take care of Reagan.” Ellie nodded and Curtis opened the door to her truck. “Be careful.” She gave him a half smile before turning the ignition and driving through the yard before pulling back out onto the road.

                                ************************************

Everything about the little apartment that she shared with Kirby was a painful reminder of what she just lost for Ellie. The first thing she saw when she stepped inside was Kirby’s coffee cup from that morning sitting on the coffee table and then her eyes fell on Kirby’s running shoes next to the sliding glass door. Her eyes burned with new tears and she absently ran her fingers up the rows of friendship bracelets along her right wrist then smiled at the picture hanging on the wall of the two of them from the cruise that they took after graduating from college. But she couldn’t help laughing when she remembered that the picture covered the mark on the wall from when Kirby threw a tray of devilled eggs at her then boyfriend during a fight. Ellie grabbed the picture off the wall and carried it down the hall with her to her bedroom. She sat it on top of her unmade bed and dug inside her closet for a couple of large bags and tossed those on her bed too then headed into the bathroom. She quickly stripped out of her filthy clothes and stepped inside the shower, letting the pulsing hot water mix with the dirt and tears as it drove into her aching muscles. She hastily pulled all the bobby pins out of her hair, letting it tumble past her shoulders and then she leaned against the wall. Remembering that she still needed to get back to Reagan, she forced herself upright and quickly rinsed herself free of the dirt and debris that covered her. She wrapped a thick towel around herself and head to the hallway closet where she and Kirby kept their school supplies and grabbed an armful of wet wipes and quickly tossed those on her bed before returning to the closet with one of the bags she’d grabbed earlier and scooped all the bottles of hand sanitizer into it along with all her little tins of Lush shampoo before heading back to her room to get dressed.

She put on her favorite worn sneakers but thought she should have something sturdier too so she dug around on her closet floor until she found the worn pair of cowboy boots that she always used whenever she went out to Kirby’s family farm. She tossed those and all the clothes she’d selected into the empty bag and then zipped it closed. She jumped when the lights flickered and knew she needed to hurry as she headed into Kirby’s bedroom. She walked directly over to Kirby’s dresser and opened her jewelry box, spinning the necklace organizer until she found what she was looking for. Ellie removed the silver and black onyx dolphin charm from its delicate chain and added it to the chain around her neck that held her small silver prayer box and her best friend puzzle piece charm, the other half she knew Kirby had been wearing that morning. The lights flickered again so Ellie hurried back to her room to grab her bags and she dragged them into the living room. Ellie head back to the hall closet and grabbed a handful of spiral notebooks and a package of ink pens then disappeared into her room again. She sat on the edge of her bed and pulled open the drawer to her nightstand. She reached inside and grabbed a little vial and sat staring at it for several seconds, her heart racing, when a knock at the door made her jump. She shoved the little bottle into her jeans pocket, picked up her notebooks and pens and headed back into the living room.

Ellie peeked through the peephole and recognized the multicolored chin length layers of her friend Kelsey. Her face was scrunched with worry so Ellie quickly pulled the door open.  “Things are starting to really get crazy out there.” Kelsey said, giving her a hug as they stood in the doorway. “And when I heard what happened at the school, I had to check on you guys. I was so relieved to see your truck. Jeremy…he’s got it. He’s infected.” Ellie gave her a sympathetic smile and led her inside. “And I don’t know about my parents. My phone isn’t working. I don’t know what to do.”

“You can come with us.” Ellie offered. “I was just finishing up here then heading back to my dads’.” She explained as she shoved her notebooks and pens into one of the bags and zipped it shut.

“Where’s Kirby?” Kelsey questioned and when Ellie gently shook her head without looking up, Kelsey let out a quiet gasp and covered her mouth with her hand then used her other to squeeze Ellie’s knee.

Ellie slung the wide straps of one of the bags over one of her shoulders then grabbed the others with both her hands and stood up. “Let’s go.” Kelsey took the bag out of her hands and the two girls head out to Ellie’s truck and tossed the bags in the bed. Kelsey hurried over to her little car before she climbed into the cab with Ellie. “I don’t know why I grabbed these but when I left the bakery, I took the batches of cake batter I’d made for the day. There’s even a batch of vegan batter for you.” Kelsey shrugged as she set them at her feet. “Not that I know what we’ll do with them.”

“My dad has a camping griddle.”

“Awesome, we can make pancakes.” Kelsey grinned.

Ellie rolled her eyes as her lips curled into an affectionate smile, “Hell, he probably has something where you can make cupcakes over an open flame.” Both girls remained quiet the rest of the short trip back to Ellie’s dads’.

When she pulled up, her father’s large RV was pulled up in front of the house and Curtis hurried out to greet them. He quickly recruited Kelsey and Ellie hurried across the street to her mother’s to collect Reagan, Katie Jo and their mom. She found all three of them in Reagan’s bedroom. Reagan was meticulously folding clothes into an enormous designer suitcase while Katie Jo and their mother DJ sat on the bed. Reagan had a slender build like her mother but was more statuesque with long graceful legs, honey brown hair, that currently cascaded over her shoulder in a fishtail braid and had gold flecked brown eyes just like their dad’s. Ellie was the tow headed blue eyed stand out of her sisters, and the curviest of the three, her weight often fluctuating within a fifteen-pound range which gave her mother fits. Where her sisters’ had thick waves, hers was fine and light colored. She enjoyed wearing it below her shoulders even though her mother insisted it would look better short because, ‘it was so thin.’  Katie Jo was a mix of Reagan and Ellie, her eyes were a deeper shade of blue than Ellie, both Reagan and Ellie were rather tall “for girls” as their mother liked to say, even though they were only around 5’7”, but she was closer in height to DJ’s short stature, she was thinner like Reagan but her hair was lighter, though not quite as light as Ellie’s and she had a dusting of freckles over her nose and cheeks.

Reagan was the first to notice Ellie standing in the doorway and she hurried over to hug her. “I’m so glad you’re finally here.” Ellie rested her head on Reagan’s shoulder and Reagan gave her a comforting squeeze. “Curtis told me about Kirby. I’m so sorry, Sissy.” Ellie was genuinely surprised that Curtis shared that information. She was also very grateful because she didn’t think that she had it in her to keep repeating the story. Ellie buried her face against her sister’s neck and Reagan hugged her tighter and stroked her damp hair.

“You and Kirby weren’t a…couple….were you?” their mother asked, assuming the task of folding clothes into Reagan’s suitcase that she’d abandoned.

“Mom!” Reagan gasped, still hugging Ellie even though she’d lifted her head up to glare at their mother.

“Well…your father _IS_ gay.”

“I just really hope this doesn’t cause you to have another mishap.” DJ sighed, staring so hard at Ellie that she turned away. “And what are you gonna do when you run out of meds? My gosh, I hadn’t even thought of that until just now. Ellie, what _ARE_ you gonna do?!” Ellie even saw a fleeting look of concern on Regan’s face as she toyed with the matching prayer box around her neck.

“Curtis needs you to hurry.” Ellie reminded her before she turned on her heel and headed back towards the door. That look on Reagan’s face was just too much for her right now. It’s why she wouldn’t let Reagan come see her when she’d been in the hospital. She just couldn’t face Reagan when she was in there. “We’ve got to go.” Ellie just wanted to get inside the camper and sleep until this whole nightmare was over.

                                                                ****

“Hey there, Peanut.” Ellie genuinely smiled when she heard her Dad’s greeting just as she was about to climb into the huge motor home.

“Hi, Daddy.” She curled into his chest as he pulled her into a bear hug and kissed the top of her head, the bristles from his salt and pepper goatee scratching her forehead as she squeezed him tightly.

“You hangin’ in there?”

“Not really.” She sighed.

He kissed the top of her head again then grabbed her hand and led her over to the side of the camper and pulled up one of the storage doors. “I know this won’t help but maybe it will at least distract you.” He began as he showed her the rows of all the fruits and vegetables that he’d canned and stored packed in neat rows.  “And we’ve got plenty of pecans too.”

“Thanks, Daddy.” She leaned her head against his shoulder and they both turned to see Reagan her portfolio of swatches slung over her shoulder, her huge suitcase in one hand and one of her beauty pageant trophies in another while Curtis followed behind her with the rest of her things.

“What do you want to bet she has one of her tiaras in one of those bags?” Ray chuckled.

“Well, Curtis did say just the essentials.” Ellie reminded him.

“I guess I better go make some room.” Ray replied with a smile and another kiss to her temple.

                                                ************************

“Do you have any boots in any of these bags?” Curtis asked with a grin as he dropped the ones he held by the motorhome.

“Just the ones on my feet.” Reagan grinned pointing her foot out to show off her brown leather high-heeled ankle boot that made her almost eye level with him.

He smiled lovingly at her and cupped her face in his hands and drew her in for a kiss. “That’s what I thought you’d say.” He jogged over to his truck and grabbed a ratty pair of work boots out of the back and laughed when he saw the disgusted look on her face as he walked back over to her. “These are my mom’s”

“They’re hideous.”

“And useful.”

“Won’t your mom need them?”

“We’ll talk about that later.” He replied, trying to keep his voice even then looked at her design portfolio. “Is that really a necessity, Babe?”

“Yes.” She replied adamantly clutching it against her chest.

Curtis laughed and pulled her against him and kissed her again. He sighed and nuzzled her hair. “I love you, Reagan.”

“I love you, too, Baby. Everything ok?”

“We just need to get out of here.” He sighed again and pulling away from her.  

“What can I do to help?”

“Could you see if Katie Jo and your Mom are ready, please?”

Reagan smiled and kissed his full lower lip. “Sure.” She agreed before hurrying back across the street to her house.

Curtis was just about to go find Ellie when Tyler pulled up with more supplies from Ray and Clay’s storage shed. He jumped out of the cab and motioned for Curtis.

 Tyler had close cut auburn hair and a full beard and the tank top and shorts he wore showed off his arms and chest full of tattoos as well as the one on the back of his left calf. He too had just gotten home from his tour but his experience in the army wasn’t as positive as Curtis’s. And the differences didn’t end there, he had a stockier build compared to Curtis’ broad shoulders and V-shaped torso and he was not as levelheaded as Curtis either.  Once they were finished unloading everything, Curtis went to find Ellie who was sitting on the curb writing in one of the notebooks she’d packed.

“We’re just about ready to go. Now we’re waiting on Tim. Taylor said the edge of town is looking really shitty so we need to go. I’ve talked to your Dad; we’re going to stick to back roads, no main roads. We’re gonna head to that campground you guys used to go to when you were kids, your dad said there’s a lake nearby. I’m hopin’ maybe that place will be remote enough and far enough away from the city. We should make it there before dark.”

“Ok.” Ellie agreed.

“Another thing, I think we should bring your truck, so I was thinking maybe you and Kelsey could follow behind us.” Ellie’s heart sank, all she wanted to do was sleep but she nodded her agreement. “Etta’s already in the camper. Ike’s with her and Isaiah. Her other boys…they’re…not.”  Ellie closed her notebook and looked up at him. “She handled it the way she handled things.”

“So she’s pretty out of it?” Ellie guessed.

“Yeah.” Curtis chuckled.  Ellie sighed when she recognized the obnoxious sound of Tim’s red convertible. She stood up and could see the shock of white hair whipping around in the wind as he approached. And once everyone was assembled, they were finally on the way.

The route her dad was taking to get them out of town took them right past the grade school, Ellie tried to avert her eyes but they instantly fell on the blackened hollowed out school bus and she involuntarily took her foot off the gas as they cruised past. She heard Kelsey gasp next to her and clutch her hand.  They both jerked forward when Ellie’s foot hit the brake and she threw her truck into park when she recognized the shirt of one of her students. Her fingers dug into Kelsey’s palm as she surveyed the horrific scene, watching as the little girl aimlessly ambled along with a few others like her, people who Ellie recognized. Their skin was a sickly greyish color; the way Curtis had described his Mom’s to look. Tim, who had refused to ride in the motorhome, was blaring the horn impatiently in his convertible behind them, caused the group to turn their heads and start a slow march in their direction. It was then that Ellie noticed two more of her students, they had been hovered over another body, their skin the same hideous grey color and when they lifted their heads, their mouths and hands were covered in blood.  Ellie let out a scream and with shaking hands she hastily put her truck into drive while Tim angrily laid on the horn again then quickly pulled around her, nearly colliding with her as she accelerated. But it only took her a few moments before she was caught up to the RV.

                “Do you need me to drive?” Kelsey finally asked after several minutes had past and Ellie was still silently sobbing.

                “I’m fine.” Came her shaky reply, then she quickly wiped at her face with the back of her hand.

Ellie turned on the radio but all that on was the staticky emergency broadcast so she reached for one of the CDs above her sun visor and they listened to that in relative silence all the way to the campsite. Curtis wanted them to be able to leave quickly so they didn’t actually go into the campground, instead they parked near the road but they were still close to the lake and they had space to set up tents.

                Ellie tried to ignore the conversations she heard between her parents about what they passed at the school and all the random clusters of cars they kept passing on the road on their way to the campsite while they got things set up. By the time they were done, Ellie had sweat through her thin tank top.

                “Etta’s running the generator for the air conditioning if you wanna go inside the RV.” Clay offered, handing Ellie a bottle of water.

                “I’m fine.” Ellie replied, placing the bottle to her neck before she opened it.

                “I know you hate this weather. You know that’s why your Daddy bought this camper in the first place, tryin’ to get you and Reagan to camp with us more often.”

                “Well, I guess he finally got his wish.” Ellie smirked before she chugged her water.

                “Has anyone ever told you that you have your father’s sick sense of humor?”

                “Usually it’s just when my mother is gripin’ about it.”

                Clay kissed her cheek, “I love it. Don’t lose it or you’ll lose your sanity.”

                “What’s left of it anyway.”

                Clay shook his head and laughed, “There you go again. I love you, Kiddo. I need to go get supper started for us. Do you need anything? The water is in the second storage compartment if you need another.”

                “Ok. Thanks.”

                Clay gave her a loving smile and pushed her sweaty hair off her face before he headed over to pull the cooking supplies out of the back of her truck.


	3. Chapter 3

As dusk fell, a few other groups had arrived, they shared similar stories and then settled in their own areas and kept to themselves the rest of the evening. Ellie’s had settled around a small campfire and were cooking the hotdogs that Ray had packed while Ellie ate a plate full of pecans and sliced tomatoes.

“Maybe now you’ll finally be forced to give up this silly vegan thing.” DJ said to Ellie as she squirted relish over her hot dog. Ellie didn’t say anything; she just hunched lower over her plate.

                “Hey, do you remember that thing we did in Girl Scouts?” Reagan asked with a smile. “Maybe it will finally come in handy.” Ellie finally looked up from her plate and looked at Reagan. She was listening but she still didn’t speak.

                “Oh, I know what you’re talking about.” DJ interjected. “That badge thingy was the only one that Ellie would do that summer.”

                “That’s not surprising.” Katie Jo muttered.

                “That was right before she started high school, I remember because that was when she decided she was going to stop eating meat. I swear she did it just to be spiteful.”

                Ellie lowered her head again. “But we learned how to make shampoo and soap from flowers.” Reagan continued. “If we have to stay out here very long, we may have to do that.”

                Curtis draped his arm around her and kissed the side of her head and she laid her head on his shoulder.

DJ looked around the campfire, “Well, I just have to say after what we experienced today, I just feel so blessed that my girls are all here and my boys. My family is intact.”

“Mom!” Ellie scolded when Kelsey quietly got up and walked towards her tent.

“What?! I can’t be grateful that _MY_ family is together. I’m not going to feel guilty about that.”

“You don’t have to rub it in her face.”

“She wasn’t doing that, Ellie.” Katie Jo argued.

“Stop it!” DJ commanded. “Times like this can pull a family together or rip it apart and I will _NOT_ let it rip ours apart. That’s NOT how our family acts.”

Ellie rolled her eyes and tossed her empty water bottle into the garbage bag then looked towards Curtis. “I’ll take first watch tonight.”

He nodded then stood up and handed her a knife. “You come get me if you see something but, if you get caught up and see one of ‘em before you can get to me,” he paused and grabbed her hand and assisted her with a hard jabbing movement. “You have to hit them in their brain.”

“How do you even know that?” Tyler’s voice was full of hostility.

“I just…figured it out.” Ellie looked over at him and Curtis briefly made eye contact with her.  “We all need to get to bed soon. We’ve had a long day. We should rest. We don’t know what tomorrow will bring.” He added before he stalked away. Reagan looked bewildered and hurried after him. She put her hands on his thick biceps and laid her cheek against his back and he placed his hand gently against hers and squeezed it before they head towards their tent. The rest of them finished cleaning up in tense silence then Ellie grabbed her notebook and climbed on top of the motorhome.

                                                                *****************

Reagan sat by the fire, her head resting against Curtis’ shoulder and his arm wrapped around her as she stared down at the large sparkling black diamond solitaire engagement ring that had resided on her finger for the past three months. She smiled and nuzzled closer to him as she thought of the way he’d begun saving for it back when they were thirteen and he’d spent the summer mowing lawns. The happy memory periodically took her out of the moment, which was exactly how she liked it. They had been at the campground for a few days now, just waiting to hear some news on the radio or come across some new people, just something, to confirm for them whether it was safer to stay put or move on to more permanent lodging. The time spent together was bringing out the personality quirks and differences in some members in their group, and wearing on the nerves of others, making it an uncomfortable set-up. Their evening meals around the fire had a pattern that started off with Aunt Etta muttering the random, senseless comments of one whose brain cells have incinerated due to years of drug use. Tonight it had been something along the lines of “By the grace of the good Lord, I will rise from filth of this destination on the wings of a monarch and my sisters will suffer the good deeds of the hungry.” Then her son Isaiah would go on to talk about how she shouldn’t say things like that because listening to it was worsening his depression so he needed to go lie down and would go to his tent to sleep before dusk had even set in sometimes. Tim would usually make some gross sexual innuendo about wanting to follow Isaiah to his tent, which would make everyone uncomfortable so DJ would change the subject by reminding everyone to read the labels on the cans of food they had to ensure that they were each choosing foods that were compatible with their blood type or some other meddlesome lecture, which usually provoked an eye roll or snide comment from Ellie, which, in turn, caused Katie Jo to chastise Ellie in what she perceived to be her mother’s defense and then proceed to go back in the camper to pout. The pattern varied some after that. One evening, Isaiah’s boyfriend Ike blathered about food rations and the percentages each person should be allowed per day. The next evening, Tyler tried to pick a political argument with Curtis, something he did frequently. And tonight the heaviness of their situation seemed to be getting to everyone so the whole group was just bickering and tense.

                So Reagan, reveling in the feel of Curtis’ strong body next to hers, reminisced about happier times to tune it all out. She didn’t do negative feelings, never had. She hated feeling sad so much that, most of the time, she just didn’t let it happen. She chose to focus on the things that made her happy. She wore pretty clothing and cosmetics and decorated with lovely trinkets because she believed outward beauty carried into the soul and kept a person’s spirits up. Many people didn’t understand this about her, assuming that her love of physical beauty was shallow, but, they accepted it either way so that was alright with her. She knew that Kelsey understood because she had the same motivation for wanting to make cupcakes and sweets for people and make them happy. And Ellie, although, she didn’t have quite as much of an optimistic disposition, could relate because of her love of writing.  Reagan glanced over at Ellie across the fire, just observing her. This was something she had begun doing occasionally since she had found Ellie after her attempted suicide weeks earlier. She was just filled with such awe of her sister, witnessing her going through all of that and surviving. Reagan just couldn’t comprehend how she could do it, feeling low enough to want to end her life at one point, but continuing to move forward and put it behind her.  It was beyond anything that Reagan, who hated to feel even a little sad, could process. The closest Reagan had ever come to feeling depressed was missing Curtis while he was deployed, but even then, she had kept herself busy with the people she cared about and the things she enjoyed and written to him every day because she just couldn’t bear to be lonely and miserable the whole time. Experiencing the kind of despair Ellie must have felt seemed terrifying to Reagan. And proceeding to go through the healing process afterward and living out her life with that weighing on her was unfathomable. That is why Reagan couldn’t help looking up to her older sister, even though she was fairly certain Ellie didn’t even notice how much she admired her.

                “That’s horse shit!” Tyler’s voice which was beginning to grow tense pulled Reagan’s attention back to the present.  “They know exactly what they’re doing. They’re destroying all of the small towns like ours and sacrificing the people in them to protect the precious money-making industries in the big cities.”

                “It’s not about money.” Curtis insisted. “I’m not saying our government would never be that greedy, but that doesn’t even make sense in all this. What good is the money the cities make going to do if the entire human race is infected with this…whatever it is?”

                “Can you really be this naïve?!” Tyler huffed angrily.

                “I’m not disagreeing with you about what happened.” Curtis clarified. “But it is a logical strategy for trying to protect the most civilians. When the military stepped in, they started with the less populated areas to try to contain it. There are going to be fatalities either way, but if they’d started with the larger cities, the numbers would have been instantly multiplied by ten. This isn’t a personal attack on us small communities. It’s an attempt to preserve the American population as a whole.”

                “Whatever.” Tyler sighed. “I should know better than to challenge the ultimate boy scout in his beliefs about the ‘great and powerful American government.’”

                “I guess we’ll just have to agree to disagree.” Curtis shrugged, giving Reagan an exhausted smile.

                “I think that’s a great idea.” DJ added in approval. “I hate it when my boys argue.”


	4. Chapter 4

The next week passed in the same way the past days had, almost identically really. Everyone remained holed up together in their campsite just waiting, no one really certain what exactly it was they were awaiting. Daily activities were the one thing that helped alleviate the boredom of literally nothing to do besides keep watch so, like they had every two days since they’d arrived, Ellie, Reagan, Kelsey, Katie Jo, and DJ washed the meager amount of laundry each person had used while Aunt Etta sat the picnic table smoking a joint she’d rolled and her boys sat across from her, Isaiah complaining about how the heat made him sick to his stomach because of all his gastro-intestinal problems and Ike arguing that his stomach issues were probably a result of him not getting enough protein because not everyone was keeping within their share of the canned meat supply, which meant some people were not getting enough.

 Ray and Tim were keeping watch while Curtis, Clay, and Tyler were scouting the campground for leftover supplies as some of the groups of people who had arrived after them had not stayed around. The women had set up their own version of an assembly line to make the strain of hand washing laundry without appliances somewhat easier. Ellie would carry buckets of water up from the lake while Kelsey would add detergent to a bucket and scrub clothes in it, then pass it off to Reagan to rinse in a second bucket. Reagan had just handed another wet article to Katie Jo for her and DJ to hang up on branches and lifted up the now soapy bucket to dump out when she heard her father’s yell of “Oh, shit! Everyone get to a vehicle!”  and saw Tim running to his convertible, abandoning his watch post.  The commotion startled everyone enough to make them immediately stop what they were doing to look in the direction where Ray’s wide eyes were staring south of their camp toward the woods.  Reagan didn’t realize the bucket had dropped from her hands until she felt the cool splash on her feet nor was she aware that she had stated the instinctive, terrified words “Where’s Curtis?!” until she heard her own voice as she spotted the herd. It was impossible to count how many drab-skinned corpses were emerging from the woods. It had to have been at least fifty. Although they were moving slowly, they were headed right toward them maybe thirty yards behind where Aunt Etta was sitting at the picnic table. Everything seemed to happen all at once at that point as if it were happening in fast forward.  Reagan breathed a sigh of relief when Curtis emerged from the opposite end of the line of trees running toward them with Clay and Tyler close behind him and the rest of her family grabbed what they could carry and ran to take shelter in the vehicles while Ray stood, gun in hand, at the edge of their camp facing the heard, glancing back every few seconds to check if everyone had taken cover. It wasn’t until Reagan had sat in front of the side window inside the camper that she saw Aunt Etta still at the table that was now a mere ten yards from the repulsive herd, her morbidly obese body not looking in any hurry to move and her eyes squinted and glazed over. Ike and Isaiah were standing with their backs to the camper, obviously frantically trying to talk Etta into running. Kelsey opened the window and she and Reagan attempted to call to Etta, but heard her typical babble of “I shall sit at this table until the night falls on the soul my savior has rescued for me.” Her boys were now screaming at her in fear as the herd was only feet away and Ray ran to them and instructed them to get in the camper as he kept his gun pointed toward the herd of moaning former humans.  The boys made it inside just as the first corpse reached Etta and set a mangled hand on her shoulder as it leaned its head toward her face, mouth open. Ray shot it in the shoulder, the impact of the shot temporarily distracting it, but, before he was able to get in another shot to its head to finish it off, the second of the herd had already sunk its brown, rotting teeth into the roundness of Etta’s upper arm. She glanced down at her arm and muttered “Wha….” as the rest of the herd closed in on her.

“Ray, get out of there! It’s too late for her!” they heard Curtis yell from his truck just before Ray ran to the camper, turning his back on the scene of Etta literally being eaten alive. Ray was the last remaining member of their group to reach the safety of a vehicle. As soon as he was behind the wheel of the camper, their entire caravan took off at high speed barely making it back to the main road without the herd catching up to them.

Once they hit the main road, their line of vehicles took off at high speed trying to put as much distance as possible between them and those strange moaning creatures. Twenty minutes into their journey, it appeared they had made an adequate escape since they had not seen any more of those things since they left the campground. This was a good thing since they were forced to make a stop in the middle of the road. Under other, more normal circumstances, it would have been a strange sight to see, the scene they came up on, an apparent multicar pile-up just sitting in the middle of the road abandoned. It spanned the entire width of the road so they would not be able to pass without veering off into the grass and Reagan could make out the remains of at least ten vehicles in the mangled pile. She refused to allow her imagination to wander to what atrocity could have been the cause of such mayhem on a nearly deserted country road even though a part of her was positive it had something to do with those horrible moaning creatures they had just witnessed ripping Kirby’s aunt apart. That certainty only strengthened her resolve not to ask what may have caused this and invite discussion about the horrors around them. She was relieved when Kelsey’s voice pierced the silence. 

“What do we do now?” Kelsey questioned as Ray came to a full stop a few feet behind the wreckage.

“I suppose it’s as good a time as any to reconvene with everyone and figure out a plan since we can’t get through on this road.” Ray replied, killing the engine. “I think we’ve outrun the moaners for the moment.”

“Moaners?” Reagan shuttered involuntarily. “Is that what we’re calling them?”

“It’s an accurate description.” Clay shrugged before opening the passenger’s side door.

“Nobody get too far from a vehicle.” Ray warned them before opening his door as well.

As Reagan stepped out of the camper door after Ike and Isaiah, she chose not to turn her face toward the hideous wreckage in front of them. She even did her best to ignore the right and left side of the road around them where it was littered with bits and pieces of automobile rubble combined with whatever else that might be causing that rotting smell that made her stomach turn. She instead ran to Curtis’s arms as soon as his truck had come to a stop behind them and he climbed down from behind the wheel. She didn’t even realize she had been holding back tears until his arms encircled her and her vision was already so blurred that she was barely able to make out the sight of Ellie pulling up in her truck, Tyler and Katie Jo stepping out of his truck behind her, and, finally, Tim and her mother pulling up the rear in his little convertible. A small smile surfaced through her tears at the sight of all her family appearing safely, then a flash of guilt hit as she realized Isaiah had just lost his mother and she buried her face against the bulge of Curtis pectorals and let a sob escape as he rubbed her back comfortingly. She just stood and let him hold her, refusing to look up until she was able to smile again, as she listened to the discussion about what they should do next.

“What if some of these vehicles have any food or supplies that we could reach? We should at least check.” Ike suggested.

“I don’t think we should hang around. It doesn’t seem safe out in the open like this.” Clay disagreed.

“I’m with Clay. Our trucks and the camper will be okay in the grass to get around this wreck since it’s not too muddy. We should keep going forward.” Curtis added.

“What about my car?” Tim questioned.

“I still think we should check some of these cars for food.” Ike insisted. “We’re down to only enough cans of food to last a month. And that’s only if no one eats more than three cans per day like we agreed.”

“Your car might make it through the grass. If not, one of the bigger vehicles can probably tow it.” Curtis told Tim thoughtfully, ignoring Ike’s suggestion.

“Ok.” Tyler sighed in annoyance. “So, let’s assume we can drive every vehicle around this wreck without any of them getting stuck, which isn’t likely. Where do you think we’re gonna go, Curtis? Whatever happened here either had something to with those…undead people or another military attack. So there’s probably more of the same up the road. What if we can’t get around it next time? And we don’t know when we’re going to run into another gang of undead people!”

“Well, I’m gonna go look for something useful while they argue.” Ike huffed to Isaiah, clapping his hand on Isaiah’s back as he headed up toward the wreckage.

“Yeah. I should probably have some comfort food after what happened to my mom.” Isaiah agreed, following him. “I was already having a hard enough time not letting my depression just consume me. I need to keep my strength up.”

“You’re right. We don’t know what’s ahead.” Curtis told Tyler, the rest of the group still engaged in discussion behind the camper and unaware that two of their members had wondered off. “But it can’t be safe to just sit here exposed for very long so what do you suggest?”

“We should go back the way we came since we know the roadway is open.” Tyler stated.

                “But there were all those moaners back there.” Kelsey reminded him.

                “Yeah, but we know where they are, so we can makes sure we’re going the opposite-“

                “HELP!!!!” they heard Isaiah’s desperate shriek and everyone instantly ran toward the wreckage.

Ike had been closer to him than the rest of them which was evident by the small pile of cans that had been carelessly dropped next to the smashed up car that Isaiah’s arm had disappeared into the broken window of. Ike was pulling frantically against Isaiah’s shoulder and there was a familiar deathly, raspy moan coming from inside the car.

                “It…It’s trapped by the airbag.” Isaiah’s fearful voice sounded as if he were apologizing for being in danger when he saw the rest of their group crowding around. “I thought it was dead and I could reach around it.” He whimpered and it was then that several members of the group gasped in unison as they had gotten close enough to the window to see the moaner’s head, the only part of it that was visible around the inflated airbag, latched onto Isaiah’s upper arm by its teeth, the flesh of Isaiah’s arm beginning to tear and bleed.

                “Shit!” Curtis whispered, shoving Ike out of the way so that he could get next to the window. He pulled out the knife that was holstered to his belt and stabbed it into the back of the moaner’s head until it collapsed and released Isaiah, revealing that a large chunk of skin was now missing from his arm and it was beginning to ooze blood.

                “Are you okay?!” Curtis asked him, eyeing him uncertainly.

                “No. My arm is ripped to shreds. Do I look ok?!” Isaiah huffed, grasping his arm with his other hand and wincing, looking as if he might pass out.

                “He needs bandaged up. Where is the first aid kit?” Ike stated worriedly.

                “It’s in the camper. We’ll get him taken care of.” Clay offered, he and Ray each putting an arm around Isaiah and walked him back to the camper.

                “Be careful!” Curtis yelled after them.

                “We need to get out of here!” Tyler snapped.

                “I know.” Curtis sighed, a hint of annoyance at the obviousness of the statement in his voice. “Let’s just get Isaiah patched up and check to see if he’s even safe to bring along and then we’ll try to get around this wreck.”

                “We’re not leavin’ Isaiah!” Ike cut in adamantly.

                “That’s not what I meant.” Curtis clarified. “But he did get bit so we need to figure out if we need to take any kind of precautions. We don’t really know how this thing spreads yet and we’ve already lost one member of our group. I don’t want to put anyone else at risk.”

                “You think gettin’ bit by those moaners is what turns people into them?!” DJ gasped, appalled, unaware of the terrified look her comment brought onto Ike’s face.

                “He doesn’t know, Mom.” Ellie huffed, giving Ike a reassuring look as they followed Curtis back toward the camper. “That’s what he’s sayin’. That we should just be careful until we see how this affects Isaiah so we will know. That’s smart.”

                “I almost forgot the food.” Ike stated, turning and jogging back to where he’d dropped the cans. Tim, who was walking nearest to Ike, hung behind and helped him pick up the dropped canned goods as the rest of the group continued forward toward the camper.

                “Thanks.” Ike told him as they both attempted to situate nearly 20 cans in their arms. “I had a feeling we’d find something useful if we searched some of these vehicles. These were just sitting in that trunk.” He gestured toward a sedan whose back end had been so severely impacted by the vehicle smashed against it that the trunk lid was curled up around the back windshield exposing the insides of the now dented trunk. “I’m guessing they were on the way home from the grocery store when…this happened. There was some spoiled perishables in there too.”

                “Guess it’s your lucky day then.” Tim retorted dryly as he balanced the last of the cans he could carry on the top of the pile in his arms. 

                “I just wish I had a place to hide this and keep it for just Isaiah and me since we were the only ones who had the foresight to go lookin’ for it. I mean, he got injured in the process so that should equate to a larger portion for us at the very least. But I’m sure no one else would see it that way. No one seems to understand the meaning of even rations around here.” Ike complained as they clumsily carried their load.

                “We can put it in my car. Nobody would look for it there since we just have extra luggage and things in it and not main supplies.” Tim suggested.

                “Thanks. We’ll split it with you too then to repay the favor.” Ike agreed and followed him past the line of their vehicles to his convertible. Tim carelessly dropped his armload on top of a stack of suitcases in the backseat and Ike looked at the pile thoughtfully, his arms still full. “Would you mind if I rearranged some of this stuff in your seat so I can hide them better?”

                “Ike! Tim! What are you doin’?!” they heard Tyler yell as he was the first to step back out of the camper.

                “Fine with me.” Tim shrugged, heading back toward the camper as the rest of their group emerged again and called back to him, “I’m goin’ to go see what our next plan is.”

                “We can’t argue about this all day.” Tyler was exclaiming heatedly when Tim reached them. “If we can’t agree on where to go, maybe we should split up and go different directions.”

                “I don’t see how that’s any safer. We need to stay together to protect each other.” Curtis replied. “Can you just try to be reasonable, Tyler? If we go back the way we came, we’re goin’ right back to the same threats we were leavin’.”

                “I agree.” Kelsey nodded.

                “Me too.” Ellie agreed. Reagan kept her arm firmly around Curtis as it had been ever since they stopped, which obviously stated without words which side she had chosen.

                “So now we’re votin’ about it?” Tyler scoffed.

                “We need to go!” Curtis shouted firmly, his eyes suddenly turning to the highway behind them. Everyone followed his gaze and spotted the vehicle in the distance approaching.

                “Why?” Katie Jo questioned. “More people to help is a good thing, right?”

                 “We don’t even know…” Curtis trailed off as they all watched the vehicle come close enough to reveal that it was a minivan in a shade of blue. They were now able to observe that it was swerving all over the road as if the driver had no control over it as it quickly approached.

                “It’s not slowin’ down.” Reagan breathed fearfully, watching wide-eyed with the rest of them as the minivan continued to swerve recklessly toward them.                                                               

                “Who’s in your car?” DJ asked Tim. Tim uttered Ike’s name just as Curtis shouted “Everybody, get away from the road!” and began running into the field on the side of the road with the rest of the group at his heels.

                “Ike, get away from the car!”  Curtis yelled over his shoulder and Ike’s head appeared above the driver side door looking confused just  seconds before the minivan ran into Tim’s tiny sports car from the side as it swerved from the opposite of the road, hitting it with such strong force that the body of the convertible was destroyed, bending around the bumper of the minivan so that they were fused into one dented up heap of a vehicle, a minivan-convertible fusion, that flipped forward onto its nose crushing Ike flat into the ground so that all that was visible was a puddle of blood under the bent wreckage of the convertible. Then the minivan-convertible fusion flipped the rest of the way forward, landing on its roof on the opposite side of the road.

                “GET IN A VEHICLE AS FAST AS YOU CAN AND GET OUT OF HERE!” Curtis ordered in such a commanding voice that even Tyler couldn’t argue and the remaining survivors in their shocked and shaken group ran to the vehicles that were left and drove on the grass around the now even larger pile of wreckage until they could get back on the highway and continued forward as fast as they could go. Reagan had climbed into Curtis’ truck with him this time and immediately lied down in the seat with her head in his lap, her entire body shaking uncontrollably as he stroked her hair sweetly.

                “Reagan, I need you to sit up and talk to me.” Curtis told her gently after she had had few moments rest. “You can’t go into shock.”

                “I don’t want to talk about what happened.” She muttered, her head still lying on his leg. “Because…Ike…” she gulped back a sob as a cold shutter coursed through her at the memory of the crunching, slushing sound they’d heard as the weight of the two vehicles had flattened their acquaintance.

                “I know.” Curtis nodded. “We don’t have to talk about that. Let’s talk about our wedding. We haven’t discussed it in a while.”

                “Well, that’s because we can’t have one right now.” Reagan sat up, eager for this new distraction. “There’s too much else goin’ on. We’ll get back to plannin’ eventually once all this …craziness is over.”

                “We can still talk about it, even if it has to wait for a while.” Curtis assured her. “Because I _am_ gonna marry you, Reagan Merrit. No matter how bad things get, we’ll find a way. I promise.”

                “I know.” She smiled. “I haven’t talked about it because you have enough to think about right now tryin’ to keep everybody safe. But I still think about it a lot. It’s nicer to think about than…everything else that’s going on.”

                “Good.” Curtis smiled sweetly and his deep blue eyes gave her a playful wink. Reagan’s face took on a wistful look as her mind quickly drifted off toward the happy, beautiful world that was her perceptual ideal, the effect Curtis was hoping would happen once he got her talking.

                “I picture you in like a gray or charcoal colored tux.” She chattered in satisfaction. “Because I think you’d look more handsome in something softer than black. I haven’t really decided on a dress style for me, but, I know, for my somethin’ old, I’m going to wear those….” She trailed off thoughtfully.

                “What is it?”

                “Tim stored the extra suitcases in his car.  A lot of my clothes and jewelry were in there.” Reagan explained, looking like she might cry.

                “You still have the essentials in the camper though, right?” He attempted to look on the bright side.

                “Just my cosmetics and a few changes of clothes.” Reagan said, her voice sounding as if that would not be enough supplies to get her through the next hour.

                “So that’s what? Another 12 suitcases?” Curtis teased, trying to cheer her up.

                “It’s not just me.” She explained, her tone serious again. “We all had a lot of our clothes and stuff in there.”

                “We’ll replace it.” He assured her, taking her hand and kissing it. “We still have enough stuff left to survive for a while. Once we can get somewhere safe and decide what our plan is, we’ll figure out how to replenish supplies.”

                Reagan opened her mouth to respond, but became distracted when she saw the camper in front of them slowing to a stop at the first intersection they had come upon since they left the wreck sight. They parked behind it along with the other two trucks in their caravan and watched as her father stuck his head and arm out of the driver side window, gesturing for everyone to come toward him.

                “Let’s all get in the camper this time!” Ray ordered once everyone had stepped out of their trucks.

                Once they had gotten inside camper, it was apparent that Isaiah was not handling the moaner bite well. He was lying on the couch with his arm bandaged whimpering and muttering about how he felt feverish. It was difficult to know how truly serious the condition was being that Isaiah had always had a tendency toward both hypochondria and overly dramatic behavior. He did not, however, look like he was faring well. His face was pale and sweaty with faint, exhausted eyes and his breathing sounded slightly labored.

                “Everything ok with him?” Curtis asked Ray, eyeing Isaiah uncertainly.

                “He’s stable for the moment.” Ray shrugged. “But we weren’t sure how safe it was to keep drivin’ out in the open without decidin’ on a destination. And DJ had an idea.”

                “Oh, geez. We’re all gonna die.” Ellie scoffed under her breath so that only Clay and Kelsey, who were standing on either side of her heard and snickered quietly.

                “Yes. I realized we’re not far from where they were gettin’ ready to build that new subdivision near Farris City. You know where they’re gettin’ ready to put in the new Tower Liquors?” DJ declared.

                “The new Tower Liquors again, Mom? Really? How many times are you goin’ to bring that up?” Ellie rolled her eyes, annoyed at the memory of the countless times over the past few months her mother had brought up the new Tower Liquors and Dollar General stores that were being built a mere 10 miles from their town where a new subdivision would eventually be. It was one of those small things that DJ did that, while it wasn’t hurtful or insensitive as many of the things she did were, it grated on Ellie’s nerves over time. This was mainly because each time she’d brought it up she asked “have you heard about the new Tower Liquors and Dollar General?” as if she’d forgotten that she asked the same question every other day.

                “Let her finish, Ellie! Damn!” Katie Jo snapped.

                “Well, maybe my idea is stupid.” DJ whispered in a stung voice, looking at Ellie as if she’d just stolen her puppy. “I was just tryin’ to be helpful.”

                “She was thinkin’-.” Ray cut in, rolling his eyes at all the drama. “That since the Dollar General had just opened, it might still be pretty well stocked so it might be a good place for us to go for now.”

                “That’s true. And it’s pretty well isolated so it’s not likely that it’s been overrun. I think we should do it.” Tyler nodded.

                “Yeah, that’s actually a pretty good idea.” Curtis agreed.

                “What? You’re not goin’ to disagree and decide you have a better plan?” Tyler attempted to bait him, but Curtis just ignored him.

                “Can we just go if everyone agrees?” Isaiah moaned from the couch. “I think the travellin’ is goin’ to make me nauseous and I want to get it over with.”

                “He’s right. We shouldn’t linger. We’ve already lost my car from stayin’ put too long.” Tim retorted bitterly.

                “Yeah. We should get going before somethin’ else bad happens.” Reagan stated, taking Curtis’s hand and leading the way for their group out of the camper and back to the trucks.

                Fortunately, DJ’s plan worked out for all. They made it to the Dollar General that was nestled into the cluster of half-built, still-empty homes that now may or may not ever become the small, out-of-the way community it was intended to be. Somehow, it didn’t appear that anyone else had made it out this way. The store appeared to have been completely undisturbed since its employees had apparently abandoned their posts early on the day all of the explosions happened as the door was locked but all the lights and cash registers were still active.

                As they explored the interior of the store, everyone kept a close eye on Isaiah, who continued to complain of pain and sickness as his coloring and appearance grew more and more off the way one might after a rapidly growing serious injury or terminal illness. It was still difficult to be certain what the effect of the bite was on him since no one was sure how much of his complaining and change in demeanor was from actual suffering and how much was the result of his typical need for attention. Therefore, their only current option for him was to watch and wait.

                By nightfall, they had settled into their new environment and, with the exception of Isaiah, everyone was feeling more comfortable and stable than they had since they had first been overrun that morning. They had covered the front windows with paper to keep from being visible if any moaners showed up and had moved pieces of furniture and heavy objects in front of them in case they attempted to break the glass and get in. They had locked and barricaded the door as well and then taken advantage of the resources that were available on the shelves of the store. They had managed to scrounge up enough cots, hammocks, and cushions to create beds for everyone and they had made a make-shift shower in one of the restrooms by connecting the hose of a shower head to the sink faucet and hanging it from the ceiling above a drain in the floor. The shelves were fully stocked with non-perishables and there were even a few perishables left in a cooler that were still good so their dinner had consisted of a wider variety of options than they had been accustomed to of late. Everyone was so comfortable and content with their clean bodies and full stomachs as they lay in their beds, they were able to drift off to sleep and enjoy some relief from the exhaustion of the day and the terror-filled memories of their two lost group members.

                Reagan began to toss and turn in the middle of the night as images of Etta and Ike’s deaths and Isaiah’s injury invaded her dreams and her subconscious distorted the events even further into strange, frightening scenarios. She woke up every few minutes or what felt like it to her and snuggled closer to Curtis for comfort on their pile of cushions and bedding until she could drift back out of consciousness and into the bizarre world of her haunted dreams again. Despite her exhaustion from such a fitful night’s sleep, she found herself grateful for the sounds of her family beginning to stir as the store around her took on the pale illumination of the risen sun through the covered windows, knowing the fearful and tiring nocturnal darkness was behind her for the next several hours and there would be noise and interactions to keep everyone’s minds off of the events of the previous day.


	5. Chapter 5

The first agenda of the day was tending to Isaiah, who seemed to have deteriorated during the night. His skin had turned grayish pale and he was sweating and shivering and complaining that his body ached all over and he was having hallucinations of becoming one of the moaners. From the looks of him, everyone was convinced that he was truly in bad shape and this was not just another of his episodes of hypochondria. They used a thermometer from the store’s shelf to check his temperature and discovered that his fever was dangerously high. Everyone was growing more concerned with their lack of knowledge about what exactly was going on with him. Isaiah had been bitten by a moaner, which meant that, if it were some type of contagious disease that was causing people to turn into them, their whole brood might be at risk of either turning into moaners themselves or ending up as sick as Isaiah and possibly dying. Reagan, in her optimistic demeanor, chose not to entertain the thought and convinced herself that the ibuprofen and cold rag Clay had offered would bring Isaiah’s fever down so that he would eventually get better and that they had quarantined him in the back stockroom quickly enough that no one else would get sick.  When she heard the miserable suffering groans coming from him in the stockroom throughout the morning, she told herself that, like most illness, it probably gets the worst right before it starts to get better so, any minute now, Isaiah’s fever would most likely break and he would start to recover. She busied herself by enlisting Kelsey’s help in attempting to decorate the store and make it appear homier as a way of drowning out the grave conversations of the rest of her troop.

                “I hear what you’re sayin’, Tyler!” Curtis’s normally cool disposition began to crack in heated frustration. “We don’t know if he’ll turn into one or….die…or what. But, at the moment, he is still an innocent civilian. Doin’ anything to him at this point would be murder.”

                “So would lettin’ him turn into a moaner and kill all the rest of us!” Tyler retorted.

                “But we don’t know if he will turn yet.” Ellie reminded him.

                “We know that he’s sufferin’!” Katie Jo argued. “And we have no way of knowin’ if there are any doctors or hospitals left to take him to. So how long are you willin’ to let this go on?!”

                “She has a point.” Ray shrugged reluctantly.

                “I know. I’ve thought about that too.” Curtis agreed. “But, what if it were one of us? Would any of you want to be put down without at least waitin’ for some answers?”

                “Of course not. We all still have each other to live for!” DJ gasped, appalled.

                “So, because his family is gone, we should just kill him?!” Ellie demanded.

                “No one is sayin’ that.” Tyler replied. “We just need to decide on a plan. Or a time limit or somethin’. If he keeps getting’ worse, where do we draw the line?”

                “I’m not comfortable makin’ that decision.” Clay stated. “We’re not doctors. Or God for that matter. I don’t want to weigh in on whether we let someone live or die.”

                “To be honest, neither do I.” Curtis admitted. “I think, at this point, all we can do is keep monitorin’ him and watchin’ everyone else to make sure it’s not spreadin’. Then, when and if somethin’ changes, we have this discussion again and decide what to do.”

                “I’m ok with that.” Ellie agreed and several others nodded.

                “I’ll go along with it, but if anyone else turns or gets bit, that’s on you.” Tyler stated, staring Curtis down.

                “Fair enough.” Curtis nodded.

                “Should someone try to take a vehicle out and see if we have any means of gettin’ him to a doctor?” Tim suggested, contributing to the conversation for the first time.  “We should know what’s available out there whether Isaiah makes it or not.”

                “He’s right.” Ray agreed. “Antibiotics might help Isaiah if we could get him some. And we’ll eventually run out of other supplies. We should find out what else is around us.”

                “Yeah, I was figurin’ we’d have to venture out soon.” Curtis replied.

                “I can go.” Ray offered.

                “You can’t go alone. We’re safer in a group. I’ll go with you.” Curtis commanded.

                “Me too!” Ellie offered.

                “Ellie.” DJ tsked. “I think this is something the men should handle. It’s too dangerous for you.”

                “The more people who go, the more likely we can all get each other back safely.” Ellie argued, eager for a break from her. “And the rest of the men should stay here and make sure everyone else is safe. So I’m going.”

                “She’ll be fine.” Curtis promised DJ and Ellie gave him a grateful smile. “We’ll stay in the truck unless we’re sure it’s safe to get out.”                               **

               

Reagan refused to let her mind worry as she allowed the warm water of their make-shift shower to pour over her even though it was past dark and Curtis had still not returned with Ellie and Ray. She told herself that it had to be a good sign, that they probably found something useful and were taking extra time loading up all the supplies. And they definitely needed whatever medical supplies that might have been found now more than ever as Isaiah had become completely unresponsive and lethargic in the last hour. He was still breathing the last she’d been informed, but just barely. Everyone besides her and Clay had gone on to bed early, all of them clearly exhausted after everything they’d been through the past few days. After sitting and talking with her for a while, Clay had opted to curl up with a book while he awaited Ray’s return. Being up all alone, she had decided to shower since her fatigue from her previous restless night’s sleep was making it a struggle to stay awake until Curtis returned and she didn’t love the idea of lying down in their odd new dwelling without him next to her to make it feel like home. She knew she was tired enough to sleep without him, but she didn’t want to. Falling asleep next to him made her feel happy, loved, and secure and she refused to end her day without that. She shut off the water and quickly dried off with the pink towel she’d brought in with her. She slipped into her short gray Victoria’s Secret nightshirt and let her hair down out of the bun it had been in before going to the sink and performing her elaborate nightly beauty regimen.  She jumped with a start when she opened the bathroom door to find Curtis standing directly outside waiting for her.

                “You’re back!” she cheered, throwing her arms around his neck. “What took so long?”

                “Shhhh. Everyone else is asleep.” His deep soothing voice whispered against her ear.

                “Oops. I forgot.” She replied in a giggling whisper as she released him and he took her hand walking her to the employee lounge next door to the ladies’ room she’d just come out of.

                “We kept having to detour because roads were blocked like what we saw yesterday.” He explained softly, sitting down on the unattractive maroon couch that was pressed against the wall of the small room and pulling her onto his lap straddling him.

                “So did you find anything?” she asked, cupping his face in her hands and stroking his beard affectionately with her thumbs.

                “We were finally able to get to a Walgreens. We grabbed as much medicine as we could. ….I don’t know if we made it in time to help Isaiah though.” He pulled her closer to him and rested his head against her breasts sadly. “He was passed out cold when I went in to check on him. I couldn’t get him to wake up and his breathing was raspy.”

                “Maybe he’ll feel better after a good night’s sleep.” Reagan suggested in her sweet, positive way.  Curtis sat back up, his deep blue eyes penetrating hers.

                “I love you so much, Reagan.” His full lips curved into an adoring smile as his fingertips caressed the tops of her outer thighs under her short nightshirt.

                “I love you too.” She repeated, her lips finding his in a passionate entangle. He pulled away from her long enough to pull her nightgown off over her head revealing the entirety of her naked body before pressing his lips to hers again. She gave the bottom of his shirt a slight tug and he obediently removed it as well before his large, muscular arm encircled her tiny waist, crushing her breasts against him so that the hair covering his hard pectorals tingled against her tender nipples as he lied down on his back, pulling her on top of him. They continued to kiss in a mixture and sweetness and intensity as she unfastened the holster around his hips and removed it to keep his knife and gun from digging against her and tossed it on the floor next to them. He helped her undo his pants with one hand, while his other palm remained pressed firmly against her lower back as if he couldn’t stand to have an inch of her naked flesh not pressed up against him. His hand slid down to cup her buttocks as she slid onto the extensive          length of his awaiting erection and began moving her hips in a gentle rhythm with his.  Both of their breathing growing quicker and heavier with every thrust.

                “Curtis.” She whimpered, mustering every ounce of self-control she had to keep her voice low as she kissed the side of his neck hungrily and grasped the hard muscles of his biceps with both hands.

                “Shhh.” He reminded her, listening to the tiny squeal that was her failed attempt at remaining silent as her entire body trembled in pleasure against him as his grasp on her buttock tightened and he too felt himself on the verge of release. Reagan eagerly quickened the pace in her movements, recognizing the familiar signs that he was close to finishing.

                “Mmm!” he grunted, trying to keep his noises to a minimum as well as he also reached satisfaction. Reagan kissed him softly on the lips one more time, enjoying the warmth of his ejaculation inside her before they concluded and she lied her head on his chest in tired euphoria.

                                                                       *****************

                 The next event that happened occurred before Reagan had a chance to process what was taking place. She vaguely heard the ever more familiar rattling groan of a moaner and the shuffling of heavy feet just as one of Curtis’ hands covered the side of her face protectively and she felt him reach for his holster on the floor beside them with the other. She heard a sickening sloshing, gagging sound as she felt Curtis jab his arm upward behind her and then, within seconds of him pulling his arm back, there was a weighty thud on the floor. She lied still, allowing Curtis’ hand to continue shielding her eyes and listening to his shaky breathing that matched her own for several seconds before asking the question she already knew the answer to.

                “Was that Isaiah?”

                “Yeah.” Curtis sighed sadly, brushing her hair off her face.  She scooted into a sitting position, refusing to look over the side of the couch where the thing that was formerly Isaiah had fallen to the floor after Curtis stabbed him. She wrapped her arms around herself, suddenly feeling uncomfortably vulnerable in her nudity.

                “I want to put my clothes back on and go out there with everyone else.” She stated, her voice taking on a slight quiver as she grabbed her nightshirt off the edge of the couch.

                “Me too. We need to go let everyone know what happened anyway.” Curtis agreed, refastening his pants, before picking his shirt and holster back up off the floor. When they were both dressed they stood up to leave the room.

                “Hey.” Curtis pulled her into his arms one more time and kissed the top of her head. “You

okay?”

               

                I’ll always be ok as long as you’re here.” Was her honest reply. “But I just wish all of this were over.”

“I know.” He sighed, taking her hand and leading her back toward the main store area where the rest of their loved ones were sleeping.


	6. Chapter 6

They followed the glow of the flashlight and found Ellie propped up in a nest of pillows writing in her notebook. She looked up when she heard their soft footsteps and even in the dim light she could see her sister’s face was twisted in anguish. Ellie quickly turned to Curtis who was looking solemn so she quickly and quietly scrambled to her feet. Reagan clutched at the front of Curtis’ shirt and he kept his arm protectively around her waist.

“Isaiah turned.” Curtis said simply, keeping his voice low.

“I was afraid of that.”  She replied quietly as tears filled her eyes. She and Isaiah weren’t particularly close but she still had considered him a friend, and since they were cousins, he had been her last link to Kirby. Curtis squeezed her arm sympathetically and Reagan curled into her for a hug. “We should wait til mornin’ before we say anything, let everyone sleep.” She continued when she pulled away from her sister.

“If that’s what you want.” Curtis nodded. “Why don’t you try and get some sleep, I’ll keep the first watch.”

Reagan looked anxiously at him and he stroked her cheek lovingly with the back of her hand. “I’ll just be by the windows.”

“I can take the first watch.” Ellie offered, “I can’t sleep anyway.” She bent down and grabbed her knife, her notebook, iPod, and one of the pillows and head over towards the front windows while Curtis and Reagan settled into their makeshift bed.

They hadn’t seen activity of any kind since they’d set up house at the store but that unsettled Ellie more than if they had. She didn’t like the quiet or the isolation which was a surprise to her because under normal circumstances, it’s what she craved. But in these conditions, it didn’t feel right. She knew it was reassuring to the others but not to her. They hadn’t seen any other people since they’d left the campsite and her dads and Curtis had continued without luck to find a radio station that would pick up the emergency broadcast they’d heard off and on when they’d been there.

 The battery in her iPod finally died so she wrapped the cords to the earbuds around it and tucked it inside her pillowcase. Although she had been using it to drown out the silence she hated so much, she found that she the music was not offering her the comfort that it usually did. Every song on it was a reminder of concerts and fun with Kirby which only made Ellie miss her more. So much had happened in the last few days but not one moment of it went by that she didn’t notice Kirby’s absence.     Her best friend had been such a constant in her life that it overwhelmed her, especially in the silence when there was nothing else to distract her from her unbearable grief. She took a few deep slow breaths through her nose, trying to keep her ever-present anxiety at its usual manageable level, but with nothing but undesirable thoughts to occupy her mind; it was becoming more difficult for her to keep it at a low level.

And with the exception of Reagan and her dads, it was a lot for Ellie to handle- being in such close proximity to these family members who she loved but needed her space from under normal conditions, she thought as her mind started to wander into the past. Her eyes drifted to where Katie Jo lie sleeping next to Tyler and she was immediately filled with more sadness. Her relationship with Katie Jo hadn’t always been so strained. Even with the age gap, she and Reagan had always been close to her, and Ellie had always made sure to keep their littlest sister included in anything she was doing, whether it be taking her to concerts with her Reagan and Kirby or just a shopping trip or meeting for iced coffee. But something changed when Katie turned seventeen and from then on it seemed they were more like enemies than sisters. For a brief moment Ellie had hopes that maybe being forced to be together would bring some of that closeness back but so far that didn’t seem to be the case.  

Ellie looked down at her notebook and tried to focus on that again, but even her writing for the moment wasn’t providing much relief or diversion; what could she say about the inside the _Dollar General_. So her mind continued to drift as she surveyed her sleeping family members and her eyes landed on her mom; and even then, she couldn’t help but let out an audible sigh. Unlike Katie Jo, she and her mother were a completely different story; it seemed as though they had butted heads from the day she was born. All her life it seemed, Ellie had been reminded of how contrary she was when it came to any of her mother’s wishes or requests. She tried for a long time to do things to make her mother happy but in her mind, Ellie felt as if she had been fighting a losing battle. She did admittedly become more outwardly defiant especially when her mother would call her bouts of depression “laziness” or her anxiety and panic attacks just “Ellie overreacting” or “being too sensitive again.” It became exhausting trying to explain anything to her and so, she had just stopped. Especially after one particularly hard year, afraid that she was going to have a break down, Ellie decided to take a semester off from college so that she could recuperate -which had led to her mother not speaking to her for two months. That combined with her parents’ divorce, communication between the two of them had really broken down and Ellie had never made an attempt to repair it because she didn’t see how it would make a difference. Ellie’s mouth involuntarily curled into a bitter smile as she thought now after just a week with her mom with no escape that she would give anything for the silent treatment again.

All these were issues she thought she’d dealt with long ago but now confined to this little space with them and nothing else to distract her, it was all she could think about. She looked down again at the paper and realized she’d been doodling pictures of flowers on the paper, something she had done since junior high and would doodle in the margins when her mind would wander in class when she got bored.

 “Want some company?”

Ellie looked up into Kelsey’s smiling face, her sleeping bag and pillow in hand.

“Sure. Couldn’t sleep either?” she guessed and Kelsey shook her head.

She laid her sleeping bag down next to Ellie then settled into it and scooted close to her.

Ellie and Kirby met Kelsey through her husband Jeremy who had been a 6th grade teacher at the elementary school. She was quirky and flighty with big ideas and a short attention span but was very sweet and upon their initial meeting, it seemed like they had many similar interests so a friendship was quickly forged.

 Kelsey’s parent’s had purchased a long abandoned grocery store along main street as a wedding gift, and with the help of her parents and Jeremy’s who were longtime residents of Peach Springs, it was first used as Kelsey’s art studio. She initially was going to begin an after school art program but that never panned out and then started selling homemade jewelry and greeting cards but she quickly lost interest in that before the venture could really get off the ground. After her and Jeremy’s parents bailed them out of that business disaster, they renovated the building into a quaint, cheery bakery with Kelsey’s own artwork on the walls. Her talent for baking surpassed her business sense so when the little bakery started to actually do well, Jeremy stopped teaching to go work with his wife at the bakery to run the business side of things. Kelsey was far too interested in wanting to give away the baked goods for free and their first successful business would have gone the way of her first two ideas had he not intervened and they were just starting to turn a profit and _Kelsey’s Gems_ quickly became the go-to bakery for everyone in Peach Springs.

Jeremy and Kelsey lived in the small apartment above the bakery and they had just been able to hire two employees to assist with baking and the counter so Kelsey could concentrate on decorating. As a compromise, on nights that there were unsold goods, Kelsey would take them into Atlanta and donate them to a homeless shelter where she also volunteered twice a week.

Kelsey laid her head on Ellie’s shoulder. “Do you think there’s a part of who they were in there at all?” Kelsey asked after several minutes of silence.

Ellie thought for a moment before answering. “I don’t know. For all we’ve gone through already, I still don’t think I can say I’ve had enough experience with any of it or them to say for sure but, I don’t think so. Their eyes are so empty; you know?”

“Yeah.”  Kelsey agreed, her voice sounding relieved. “Jeremy’s still out there-or he was. When I saw him,” She stopped for a moment when her voice cracked and Ellie took her hand and squeezed it.  “When I saw what he was, I was just so scared but sometimes I wonder if he knows what happened to him and if he’s scared too. If he knows I left him. I know it’s silly.”

“It’s not silly at all.” Ellie assured her. “We don’t know what this is or how it happened, it’s normal to wonder. But I don’t think that’s Jeremy anymore, for what that’s worth.”  Ellie felt Kelsey wipe at her face and she thought for a moment about telling her about how she reacted at the school but she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.

“I know you’ve hardly slept since this whole thing started, Ellie. I’ll stay up and keep watch. You try and get some sleep. Ellie thought about protesting but Kelsey took her pillow from behind her and laid it down flat so Ellie scooted down and closed her eyes.

                                                *********************

Ellie jumped when she felt herself being gently shaken and she bolted upright, her eyes wide, her heart pounding. “Oh my gosh, Ellie. I’m so sorry.” Reagan whispered.  She rubbed her hand gently down Ellie’s arm. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“It’s ok.” Ellie smiled, relaxing and pushing her hair out of her face.

“We let you sleep as long as we could but everyone is awake now so Curtis wants to tell them about Isaiah.” Ellie nodded as Reagan stood up then offered her hand to pull Ellie to her feet. “I hated wakin’ you, I don’t think you’ve slept that soundly since this whole thing happened. You needed it.”

“We gotta take care of the Isaiah thing too though.” Ellie replied.

Reagan smiled, then curled her fingers into Ellie’s as they went to join Curtis. He smiled lovingly at Reagan when they approached and offered Ellie a cup of coffee.

“You ready to do this?”

“Let’s just get it over with.”  Ellie sighed, accepting the cup and taking a few big swallows while Curtis turned towards the other members of their group who were sitting together finishing breakfast.

“Can I have your attention for minute, guys?” he began.

“So commanding already this morning, Lieutenant?” Tyler muttered.

Curtis ignored Tyler and continued.  “Reagan and I were in the lounge last night-.”

“What on earth where you doing back there?!” DJ demanded, cutting him off.

“Mother!” Ellie chided as she rolled her eyes. “Don’t worry about it.”

“Been that long, eh, DJ?” Clay joked under his breath and Ray stifled a chuckle as he gave Clay a playful elbow to the ribs.

“Isaiah turned last night and I had to put him down.” Curtis stated then pursed his lips. Reagan released Ellie and wrapped her arm around his waist when she saw him tense.

“Well it’s not like we didn’t see that comin.” Tyler replied with a shrug while he continued to eat.

“Did you dispose of it yet?” DJ asked casually as she dipped her spoon into her yogurt cup.

“Show some fucking respect, Mother!” Ellie spat angrily.

“You watch your mouth, young lady!” DJ spat back. “And YOU show some respect, I am you moth-.”

“His name is Isaiah, Mother!” Ellie yelled back, feeling her anger flare “And he’s not an it! He was a person and he was Kir-.”

“That’s enough!” Curtis shouted. “We can’t just leave the bo-, him,” he quickly corrected himself, “in the back. We need to decide what to do.”

“Let’s just take him over to that wooded area and be done with it.” Tyler huffed. “We didn’t do anything for anybody else.”

“Because we couldn’t.” Ellie protested, angry tears burning her eyes.

“What? You want to bury it?” Tyler scoffed. “With what? You want us to dig a hole with our bare hands?”

“We’re right by the sub division they were building. You don’t think there are tools and supplies left over there?” Ellie argued. “I’m sure we can find a shovel.”

“You really want us to bury him? He’s a moaner now, Ellie. That seems a bit extreme, don’t you think?” Katie Jo asked.

“Do you all have some other pressing engagement today? You can’t take time out of your busy schedules of sittin’ around on your asses?!”

“That’s enough, Ellie.” DJ chastised again.

“Disposing of the body does seem simpler.” Tim agreed.

“You are all unbelievable.” Ellie cried as she marched over to the window to grab her knife. “I’ll remember that when something happens to you.”

“Where are you goin?” Reagan asked.

“To look for a damn shovel.”  Ellie slammed angrily against the front door and marched outside.

Reagan looked worriedly up at Curtis who was already pulling away. “I’ll go with her.” He kissed her forehead then hurried after Ellie.

                                                                **************

“Ellie, hold up!” Curtis yelled as he ran after her. Ellie continued angrily stomping towards the sub-division until Curtis caught up to her and grabbed her arm. “Ellie!” he shouted.

“Back off, Curtis!” she roared and yanked her arm away from him.

He stepped in front of her and grabbed both of her arms and she glared up at him. “You’re not stoppin’ me.”

“I’m not. But you don’t get to storm off by yourself. Do you know how stupid that is? You can’t do that, Ellie.”

“Why are they being so insensitive? I don’t understand.”

Curtis draped his arm over her shoulder. “They’re just tryin’ to cope. I think it’s easier for them to try not to think about it. You know how your mom is, she never wants to accept things how they are, it’s easier for her. This is the same thing. And Tyler’s just a prick.”

“And Katie Jo goes along with whatever he does.” Ellie finished, cracking a smile.

“Come on, let’s go back and grab a truck, we can get there and back faster.”

Ellie nodded and they headed back towards where the vehicles were parked. “I want you to teach me how to shoot.”

“As long as you promise not to shoot your mother.” Curtis teased.

“I’ll try my hardest.” Ellie laughed.

                                                ********************

Ellie and Curtis spent a good part of the morning filling the back of her truck with supplies that they found from the site.  They ran into a couple of moaners that they had to put down but most of the people were already dead and they decided to clear out all of the bodies before scavenging for supplies. Ellie found that she really liked keeping busy and kept finding things to do while they were at the sight.

“Hey, El?”

“Yeah?” She turned in the direction where Curtis had called her as she adjusted the carpenter’s belt around her hips.

“Can you help me with something?”

“Sure.” She secured the sledgehammer that she’d found in one of the loops and followed after him. Curtis led her down towards the back of the subdivision where they found a completely finished house. “Wow.”

“Yeah. Someone had already started movin’ in too. There’s a bit of furniture in there.”

“You wantin’ to move us in here?”

“Nah.  I think we’re better off in the store. At least it still has electricity for now runnin’ off its own generator. And we’re not so isolated; we can’t watch out for things there.” Ellie saw the flush creep up his neck and under his beard, “No, I was hopin’ maybe you’d help me set up a do-over night for me an’ Reagan. There’s some bedding and food and stuff in there and I hate to ask this but-.”

“I don’t mind keepin’ watch.” Ellie grinned amused at Curtis’ rare display of bashfulness. “And I can bring Kelsey to keep me company.”

“That would actually make me feel a lot better. And-I just hate how last night ended.” He sighed.

“I understand.” She smiled.

Curtis and Ellie went through the house again to make sure it was completely secure and to check for anything they could take back to their camp before they started to set things up for his night with Reagan.  They fashioned a clothesline in the back and hung up the bedding they’d found to let it air out while they cleaned up and Ellie laughed at herself   when she got so excited she when she found 3 packages of unopened white cotton handkerchiefs in one of the dresser drawers. Curtis didn’t understand her reaction but she assured him they would come in very handy as she tucked them into her backpack.

The sun was starting to set and Ellie’s muscles ached by the time they head back. But Ellie felt a sense of accomplishment and she was glad to be going back to give Isaiah a proper burial and then to let Reagan and Curtis have a nice evening by themselves, he didn’t say it but she knew they were both thinking the same thing that they might not have many other opportunities like that again. When they pulled up, her dad and Reagan rushed outside followed quickly by everyone else.

“Where the hell have you been?!” Tyler demanded.

“Exactly where we said we would be.” Curtis huffed as he began to yank one of the mattresses they’d brought back out of the bed of the truck. “You coulda come out and checked if you were so worried.”

“Y’all hit the jackpot.” Ray mused as he grasped the end of the mattress then peered into the truck bed.”

Reagan hurried to Curtis’s side and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head. She reached up and kissed his cheek before casting a worried look at Ellie. “We did.” Ellie told them. “There’s actually some more stuff to go through but we knew we needed to get back.” Ellie grabbed her backpacked from the cab. “I wasn’t sure if anyone else brought one,” she said as she dug around in its contents, “but I found a Bible. I thought it would be nice to read some scripture and say a prayer after we bury Isaiah-.”

“Yeah, about that.” Tyler began.

“What about that?” Ellie asked suspiciously.

“We already took care of it.”

“What do you mean you took care of it?” Curtis demanded.

“We all decided it was best to just take it out to the woods and I burned it. You two went off and didn’t bother telling anybody when you were coming back and I wasn’t gonna just let that thing sit around and rot.” Tyler replied as he stared Curtis down.

“That wasn’t your decision to make.” Curtis told him.

Tyler shrugged unapologetically, “We didn’t know when or if you were coming back, Man.”

Ellie threw the bible angrily and it landed within inches of her mother’s feet. “You are all fucking unbelievable!” She roared.

“Watch your mouth!” DJ shouted back.

Ellie ignored her mother and stared at her father in disbelief, “How could you go along with this?”  He stepped forward and tried to reach for her and she stepped back steeling her arms at her sides.

“Sweetheart,” her father began imploring her to look at him though she refused. “We don’t know what we’re dealin’ with. Burnin’ the body did seem like the safer solution.”

“After you already agreed to bury Isaiah, you decided this? I just find it awfully convenient you waited til me an’ Curtis were gone.” 

“You were the only two who cared.” Tyler pointed out.

Ellie opened her mouth to continue arguing but then immediately clamped it shut. She didn’t want another night ruined for Reagan. “Whatever, it’s done.” Wordlessly she turned back to the bed of the truck and continued unloading it. Her father tried to talk to her but she continued to ignore him and the only time she spoke was when she saw Curtis approach Kelsey.

“Don’t, Curtis.” She said as she strode past him with an armful of supplies from the truck bed. He smiled apologetically at Kelsey then hurried after Ellie who pushed against the front door of the store then unceremoniously unloaded her pile onto the floor.

“El, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I don’t want you out there by yourself.”

“Curtis. I’ll be fine. I don’t want any company. Leave one of the twin mattresses we found in the back of the truck. We’ve been here for over a day now and haven’t seen anyone. I’ll be in the truck and I’ll hardly be far from you or from the store if there is an issue.” She set her jaw and her stare never wavered from his face.

“Fine. You win.” He conceded with a sigh. “Just know that I don’t like it.”

Ellie shrugged and walked over to the front window where she’d left her notebook and pillow. She snatched them up and stalked back outside then dumped them into the cab of the truck along with her backpack.

“What are you doing with those things?” her mother questioned.

Ellie just glared at her then jumped into the back of the truck.


	7. Chapter 7

Reagan woke up the next morning in the comfort of Curtis’ arms and forgot for a moment where they were. She dragged her fingers through his chest hair and heard his soft grunt, refusing to open her eyes. Last night had been perfect and she didn’t want it to end. She turned her mouth up towards his, and his lips were waiting. His normally soft full lips were rough when they brushed against her mouth. Reagan slid her hand up to his hair that had softened from growth from the coarseness of the short regulation army cut he normally wore in just the short time that they’d been on the road. It wasn’t much of a change, but enough for Reagan to notice. She squirmed when he slid his hand along her thigh before draping it over his, and Reagan eagerly pressed her body against his. This morning they did not take their time. Curtis kissed the nape of her neck as their bodies relaxed and back up to her mouth. “I love you.”

“I love you so much, Curtis.” She smiled. “I know that everything’s is going to be ok.” She kissed his chest and held him close. “We’re going to get through this and get married and everything is going to be alright.”

Curtis laid back against the pillow and she stayed curled up against his chest and he stroked her tangled hair. “As much as I would love to lay here with you all day, we need to go check on Ellie.”

Reagan lifted her head. “You’re right.” She agreed as she pulled herself into a sitting position as Curtis let his eyes linger on her breasts. She leaned over and kissed him and he slid his hand up her side. She pulled away just as he grazed her breast and she smiled sweetly at him as she slid off the bed. She moved to the bucket he’d filled with water and reached for her body wash and washcloth that were positioned above it. “You’re perfect.” She smiled again as she began to wash herself. “You thought of everything.”

“I know you.” He replied with a smile, forcing himself to stop watching her when he realized he was getting hard again. After a few minutes he joined her at the bucket and dipped his hands in the cold water and splashed it over his face. He quickly rinsed off and dressed while Reagan finished her elaborate routine. He kissed her quickly on the back of the head and hurried out of the room, trying not to think about the green lace bra and panties he’d packed for her to wear today.

Reagan continued her elaborate washing routine. She felt so loved that Curtis remembered everything down to her razor, shaving cream and lotion. She worked as quickly as possible then dressed in the khaki shorts and olive green sleeveless button down blouse Curtis picked out for her to wear today. She quickly pinned her hair up in a bun and slipped into her shoes then stripped the sheets off the bed. She was so touched that Ellie had put this together with Curtis that she wanted to do something in return for her. She found more sheets in a linen closet and tucked them neatly onto the bed then cleaned up and neatly bundled up her and Curtis’ dirty clothes with the discarded sheets then packed up the rest of her toiletries, leaving the body wash and carried those things downstairs. She surveyed the rest of the house and was able to find a few things to make the bedroom seem cozier and she pulled curtains from another room to add to the ones already in the room that coordinated with what was already up in the room but also darkened it. She grabbed the water bucket so she could get fresh water for Ellie when she brought her back clean clothes.

She was not surprised to see Curtis and Ellie hard at work outside even though Ellie looked so tired she looked like she would collapse at any moment.  They both stopped what they were doing when they saw her and smiled a greeting and Reagan hurried over to her sister and pulled her into a hug. “Thank you so much for helping Curtis put last night together.” She said as she squeezed her tightly. “I love you so much.”

Ellie rubbed Reagan’s back, “I love you, too. I’m glad you had a good night.”

“It was perfect. You’re the best big sister anyone could ask for.”

“Well I can’t take credit for that part.” Ellie laughed. “I’m pretty sure that all goes to Curtis.”

“You’re so naughty.” Reagan laughed, giving her a playful smack on the arm. Ellie covered her mouth to hide her yawn and Reagan picked her things back up and put them in the back of the pickup. “Can I borrow the keys to your truck?”

“Sure.” Ellie dug them out of her pocket and handed them over with a confused look on her face. “What are you going to do with them?”

“I just want to head to the store for a minute. I’ll be right back.” She smiled and hurried over to tell Curtis what she was doing and kiss him good-bye.  

Reagan hurried back over to the truck and climbed into the cab. She rolled down the window and gave Ellie a quick wave before she drove away. Ellie couldn’t help but worry the whole time Regan was gone. She knew that it was a short trip to the store and she stayed awake the whole night and saw no activity of any kind but she still couldn’t stop the nagging feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was hard sometimes for her to differentiate between her anxiety and true concern but she was trying to tune into that and something about staying in the middle of nowhere didn’t sit well with her.

“You seem a million miles away.” Curtis mused as he walked up to Ellie.

“I was just thinkin’.”

“About what?”

“Somethin’ tells me we shouldn’t stay-at the store I mean.”

Curtis cocked his head and gave her an inquisitive look. “Why’s that?”

“I don’t know.” She shrugged. “It just doesn’t feel right. We don’t know anything about this thing. And we’re so isolated here, which yeah is good in some ways but we need information. What if something happens? What if one of us gets injured? We’re not doctors. I’m glad we have you and yeah having an EMT around is a lot of help but still, I just don’t think we should get too comfortable here. But what do I know?” she finished with a small laugh. “I’m really the resident crazy now that Isaiah’s dead.”

“But don’t you see, the fact that you want to go makes me really think we should. Ellie, what’s the first thing that happens when you have an anxiety attack?”

“What does that have to do with anything?”

“Just humor me ok?” Curtis smiled.

Ellie sighed heavily and rolled her eyes. “I can’t leave the house.”

“Exactly. You withdrawal.”

“Yeah, Curtis, I’m well aware.” She sighed exaggeratedly. “What’s your point?”

“That is the point, El. You’re not talkin’ about wantin’ to hole up somewhere alone. You want to go be around people.”

“Want is a pretty strong word.” She replied with an ornery grin.

“Stop bein’ a little shit. I’m on your side.” He grinned, bumping her shoulder with his.

“We’ll never convince the others.”

“It’s probably not something we have to do right now but I think you’re right. We don’t need to think of the _Dollar General_ as our permanent home.”

                      *************************

Ellie relaxed when she heard the sound of her truck in the distance and she waved when Reagan pulled into the gravel and eased to a stop and Ellie noticed with a smile how even the way her sister drove was graceful. “Welcome back.”

“Thank you. Curtis, could you grab the water from the back for me please, Sweetheart?” Reagan called as she slid down from the cab.

“Sure, Babe.”

“I can do that.” Ellie offered as she walked towards Reagan.

“No. You won’t.”  Reagan reached back inside the truck for a bag then put her arm around Ellie and started to usher her back inside with Curtis following behind.

“What are you doing?”

“I want you to sleep, Ellie.” Reagan told her. “And have a longer break from everybody.”  Curtis sat the bucket back down once they reached the master bedroom and Reagan put the bag on the bed. “You can clean up and I brought you a change of clothes. Your writing things are in there too. I grabbed them from the truck.”

“Reagan. I love you.” Ellie was genuinely touched by her sister’s thoughtfulness, “Thank you.”

“I hope it helps.” Reagan gave her a quick hug then curled her arm around Curtis’ and they left the room. Ellie was grateful for the breeze that fluttered in the windows because it was a hot and sticky typical day for Georgia in late summer. She stripped out of her sweaty dirty clothes and drizzled the cool water over her arm with the washcloth that Reagan had left for her. After she cleaned her body, she dunked her head in the bucket and scrubbed her hair. She knew Regan would have packed her something to sleep in but she crawled under the sheet without bothering to dress; it was too hot for clothes and she knew she wouldn’t get another opportunity to sleep naked again. She was afraid that she would have trouble falling asleep but Ellie was so exhausted that she was asleep in minutes.


	8. Chapter 8

Everything remained fairly quiet as the days got shorter, and to Ellie’s pleasure cooler but ever since the incident with Isaiah two months prior, she kept herself too busy for much interaction with anyone other than Reagan or Curtis. She felt extremely betrayed by her Dads and Kelsey for going along with Tyler and didn’t have it in her to tell them or try to work it out. So instead, she focused on finding things to do. What her dad had said made sense, but the fact that they did it after agreeing to the burial is what bothered her so much and for doing it behind her back. Her mother and Katie Jo continued to make snide comments about her never being able to get over anything anytime she was within ear shot which only served to prolong her resentment.

Fortunately, she found plenty to do to keep herself busy. She and Curtis despite protests from the other members in the group spent their days scouting the area and going on supply runs. They managed to hit several gas stations and gathered up all the gas cans they could find, and siphoned gas from cars along the road as they went. They also managed to locate a few more guns and cleaned out the ammo from a sporting goods store that was in Farris City.  The only other people they ever ran into on their runs were already dead and Ellie was getting skilled with her sledgehammer but she still wanted some gun training. Curtis promised her that once they got some more ammunition they would start that. He wanted to check a few of the surrounding towns police departments. It was pretty clear that the small towns neighboring Peach Springs had been obliterated though neither of them openly discussed that part, it was understood between the two of them that they should be able to find more supplies fairly easily.

“Are you sure it’s safe for you two to be traveling by yourselves again?”  Reagan asked one evening as they were eating dinner.

“It’s ridiculous and unnecessary is what it is.” Tyler chimed in. It had been weeks since he’d felt the need to add his opinion to anything involving what Ellie and Curtis were doing.

“At least we’re doing somethin’ instead of sittin’ around on our asses.” Ellie pointed out, dropping her fork agitatedly against her plate.

“Oh cut it out, Ellie. Stop actin’ like what you’re doin’ is so damn important.” Katie Jo cut in. “We don’t need half the shit y’all keep bringing back. You’ve just roped Curtis into your paranoid delusions and he’s just coddling you like he always does to keep Reagan happy.”

“Shut your fucking mouth, Katie before I shut it for you.” Ellie snarled.

“That’s enough!”  Ray barked. “I’ve had it with both of you!”

Ellie stood up and without another word, she took her dishes to the big plastic bin full of dishwater and dropped them in then headed outside. She walked over to her truck and sat inside the cab and checked the contents of her backpack again. By now, she had it memorized, but looking it over always gave her comfort. She also had one ready for Reagan and Curtis’ was still sitting on the floorboard.  She had everything she would need in that bag when the day came that they would have to leave, along with several full canisters of gas in the bed of her truck. She and Curtis were also making sure that the RV was well stocked too. On one of their runs, they came across an auto parts store and cleaned out parts he thought would be useful in case a truck or the RV broke down and Curtis had also taken the time to give Ellie lessons on changing tires and in basic auto care.

When she was satisfied that everything was still safely in her bag, and she was sufficiently calmed down, she decided to go back inside. Reagan, Curtis and Kelsey were at the wash bins doing the evening dishes together, her dads and Tim were playing cards while Katie Jo and her mom folded laundry.

“It wouldn’t surprise me.” Ellie heard Katie Jo say.

“I just think it’s odd is all. She’s not had a boyfriend in how long and now she’s constantly dragging Curtis around everywhere. I know he seems devoted to Reagan now but how devoted can he really be if he’s off running around with Ellie instead of staying here with her? I always thought he was a stand-up guy like Tyler but now I’m just not so sure.”

“You two are unbelievable.” Ellie sneered. “The reason it’s just me and Curtis out there is because _NO ONE_ else will go with us. _WE_ are the only two who give a shit about wantin’ to be prepared in case we need to leave in a hurry.”

“Sweetheart, I understand what all this is.” Her mother stopped mid-fold and gazed at Ellie, her smile full of pity. “You’re lonely. You don’t have anyone and that’s got to be really hard at a time like this especially with your…issues. And Curtis is a great guy, he’s good looking and masculine, it’s only natural that you would develop feelings for him. I just don’t want to see Reagan get hurt.”

Ellie was rarely at a loss for words but she just stared at her mother. She finally opened her mouth to speak but still had no words so she clamped her mouth shut and walked away.

“What was that all about?” Curtis questioned when Ellie joined their group.

“I’m apparently in love with you.” Ellie rolled her eyes and grabbed the plate that Reagan had just rinsed to dry before Kelsey could.

“That’s ridiculous, you prefer guys more like your dad.” Curtis teased.

“Shut up.” Ellie growled.

“He is right though.” Reagan grinned at her.

“I was just thinking about him the other day, actually.” Ellie said quietly, adding her dried dish to their pile. Since she’d taken over Kelsey’s job, Kelsey started putting the dishes back on the plastic shelving unit in their little makeshift kitchen area. “Me an’ Curtis were over by the building where he worked on one of our runs.”

“Well that’s normal that you’re going to think about him, Ellie. I know it was a long time ago that you were together but with everything that’s happened in the world, why wouldn’t you wonder about him?” Reagan sympathized.

“Even if he was a dick to you.” Curtis added.

“Not all the time.” Reagan pointed out.

“Leave it to you to look at the bright side of that fucked up relationship.” Ellie laughed.

“And don’t forget gay.” Curtis laughed.

“Thank you. Curtis.” Ellie grumbled.  “Maybe you’re gay too since I’m in love with you.”

“See, that’s how I know it ain’t true. You and your mom definitely have a type.” He grinned and Ellie threw her dishtowel at him.

“Asshole.”

Reagan beamed as she watched the two people she loved most in the world play fight. She felt so safe and protected surrounded by her family and even more secure knowing that Ellie and Curtis were doing everything they could to ensure they were as safe and prepared as possible for any event. She trusted of both them and their instincts and had felt horrible since the incident with Isaiah. She knew how much it meant to her big sister that they have a proper burial for him and she had been the only one to speak up when Tyler took it upon himself to change the decision and burn Isaiah’s body while Curtis and Ellie were gone. She wasn’t surprised when Kelsey spoke in favor of Tyler’s suggestion once Ellie was gone. In the years Reagan had known Kelsey, as much as she hated having any kind of negative thought about a person, she had to admit this was typical behavior for her. Her opinions and interests tended to change depending on her audience. She was amazed at how intuitive her big sister was because without even witnessing the event, she knew what Kelsey had done but she didn’t want to upset her further by confirming it.

Her thoughts came back around to the little makeshift memorial she and Ellie had for Isaiah later by themselves. They’d made a cross for him out in the woods and said a prayer for him together. Ellie had confessed to her that she didn’t even know if God was still listening anymore or if He was even still around but Reagan assured her that He was.  She was even more sure of it every time Ellie and Curtis came home safely from their runs. She truly believed everything would be ok and that whatever this thing was; it wouldn’t last forever. But she couldn’t imagine how scary those kinds of thoughts must be for her sister and she hoped that her words had brought Ellie some comfort.

On one of their last runs, Curtis had brought her some more clothes and a different pair of work boots that were much more fashionable than the worn ones that had belonged to his mother.  She smiled when she remembered the night about two weeks ago when he brought them back to her. He and Ellie had been able to bring them back a lot of clothes and she’d been so excited because the thought of getting to wear something new hadn’t crossed her mind in a while. And when he had handed her the boots box, he’d given her the sweetest, crooked smile as he apologized before she even opened it. He knew they weren’t her style but had explained that he wanted to get her something that was functional first and they were the closest thing to her favorite shade of turquoise that he could find in a cowboy boot. And Reagan had laughed when she opened the box, he was right, they were not her style at all but she loved that he knew that and that he wanted to find her something prettier than the dirty work boots they’d brought along when they first had to leave and because of that, they were the most beautiful pair of boots she had ever seen. They were a standard style cowboy boot but the leather was dyed blue-green with black embroidered flowers decorating the toe box and the sides with blue rhinestones in the centers and purple embroidered butterflies scattered over them as well. She smiled again as she thought of the boots that were packed away with her bag.

“What are you thinking about, beautiful?” Curtis smiled as he leaned over and kissed the side of her forehead.

“My boots.” She smiled up at him, as she waited for him to kiss her lips.

“That’s random.” He laughed, obliging her as he pressed his mouth against hers.

“Are you and Ellie goin’ off on a run again tomorrow?”

“I think we’re gonna start buildin’ the fence so we’ll be around tomorrow.” He smiled. Curtis and Ellie had decided they should have some kind of barrier around the building and they had hauled over 2x4’s from the construction site and had been picking up barbed wire on their runs. Ray, Clay and Tim had all agreed to help put it up and even Tyler was going to pitch in even though he didn’t think it was necessary since they were so isolated. “I think we’re set for supplies for now, we shouldn’t need to make runs as often now.”

Reagan rested her head against his chest and wrapped her arms around his waist. “That’s good to hear. It always makes me nervous when you’re not here.”

“I’m here now.” He gave her an ornery grin and kissed her again. “Wanna go check on some things in the RV with me?” Reagan nodded eagerly and gripped his hand tightly as they both walked quickly towards the front door, trying to hold back their eagerness.

Ellie smiled, watching them hurry past as she grabbed one of the bins of dishwater.

“Are you ever going to talk to me again?” Kelsey asked after Curtis and Reagan left. Ellie just shrugged and continued drying the dishes. It had been nearly two months since the incident with Isaiah and Ellie had withdrawn from interacting with most of the group. At first she felt a pang of guilt over Kelsey, who didn’t have any family or close relationships with anyone but her but Kelsey had recently integrated herself with Katie Jo and DJ. It didn’t come as a surprise to Ellie and despite her initial reservations, she was glad. Kelsey was very close to her own mother and often talked about how much she missed her. And DJ would love having someone like Kelsey around her. Ellie was so caught up in her own thoughts that she didn’t realize that Kelsey had still been talking to her. “You know Ellie,” Kelsey sighed, giving her the same condescending look she’d often see on her mother’s face. “You really are too hard on everyone.”

Ellie’s eyes narrowed and she slammed the dish she’d just dried onto the plastic shelf, sending the entire thing crashing to the floor. “And you’re a sheep.”

Ellie marched away, shoving the door open. She hurried outside and tried to take slow deep breaths but couldn’t. Instead she started to cry. She continued to walk until she was away from the store and closer to the woods and she sat on the ground with her back pressed up against a large oak tree. She thought about the vial in her pocket and rubbed her thumb against it through her jeans. She didn’t know why she always carried it with her, but she did and she had it with her now. It wasn’t diluted this time. She knew if she went far enough into the woods, Reagan wouldn’t be the one to find her. Her lip quivered as she thought of her sister and her resolve lessened. But Ellie didn’t know how much more she could take being confined with her family. She did feel better when she and Curtis were out doing runs, but they both agreed, they had cleaned out all the close areas and they were well stocked, there wasn’t much else for them to do. But she liked doing that, it kept her mind busy. It was too quiet here. She needed that distraction. She sat out under the tree until it grew dark and it was only then that she started back towards the store.

She crept back in, Curtis was on watch and left the door unlocked for her. He gave her a sympathetic smile. She tried to return it but she just nodded at him as she gathered her things. She didn’t want to speak, even to him. The small interaction with her family and even Kelsey before had drained her and she couldn’t make herself talk even to him. He watched her as she carried her things out to the camper so he repositioned himself just outside the front door of the store so he could keep watch over both areas. Ellie knew what he did and she wasn’t sure if she was annoyed or grateful. She wanted him to stay inside because she knew that Reagan would worry if he wasn’t within her eyesight but she knew that was just the kind of man that Curtis was and she couldn’t really be angry at him for it either.

It was hot inside the RV, even with all the windows and the sun roof open; Ellie was stripped down to a cami and a pair of panties as she lied on one of the beds and stared above her. Her hair was sticking to her neck and she was tempted to take her knife and cut it off at the scalp. Every time she closed her eyes she saw herself letting go of her students’ hands and running away from them. Or of the bus that had her best friend inside blowing up before her eyes. Finally giving up, she sat up and reached for a flash light and her notebook.

She was just about to doze off when the sound of shouting outside the window jerked her awake. She slammed her notebook down irritably as Katie Jo’s and Tyler’s voices came into focus. “I don’t see what the big deal is, Tyler.” Katie Jo huffed. “They’re just pictures. And you have no business going through my phone!”

“I know you asked Curtis about lookin’ for him.” The RV shook from the impact of Tyler striking it.             

Ellie was immediately on alert. She had always worried about Tyler and Katie Jo’s relationship but few ever took her seriously and Katie Jo refused to talk to her about it. The only one who ever had the same bad feeling about the two of them was absent and there wasn’t anything she could do about it. Ellie twisted her sticky hair into a bun on the top of her head and pulled her shorts back on then sat quietly by the door as her heart raced-partially due to a panic attack and some due to genuine worry for her little sister. “I’m not thinkin’ about him that way, but I can wonder about what happened to the people from my life.”

“NOT him, Katie. Not him.”

“Well he’s probably dead so I don’t know why you’re so fucking jealous.”

“When was this?!” Tyler demanded.

“Tyler, stop it!”

Ellie crept over to the window and covered her mouth in horror. Tyler had Katie Jo by the arm and was roughly shoving her against the RV with her phone shoved against the side of her face. Katie Jo angrily pushed the phone, knocking it to the ground and Tyler slammed her into the camper shouting insults and obscenities into her face.

Ellie couldn’t stand by anymore and hurried outside just as she witnessed Tyler smacking Katie Jo and then roughly shoving her into the dirt. He lifted his foot to kick her but Ellie came between them just in time, she shoved his chest just as his foot connected with her shin.

“Get the fuck away from her!” Ellie roared as they both tumbled to the ground.

“Stay out of it!” Katie shrieked.

Ellie managed to land one blow before Tyler was on top of her, slamming her head repeatedly into the ground. She scratched at his face as she felt his hands around her throat. She could still hear Katie shrieking but her voice started to sound like she was at the end of a tunnel. There was pressure in her head and everything started to go hazy.


	9. Chapter 9

When Ellie woke up her head was throbbing. She was drenched in sweat and she could tell that her mother was hovering. She could hear Katie Jo crying in the distance and as she became more aware of her surroundings, she realized that someone was holding her hands. She was sure it was Reagan. She made a slight noise and her throat felt like it was on fire. “Was that Ellie?” she heard her mother gasp. “Did she wake up? Is she waking up?”   
“Mom. Shh.” Reagan soothed. “I think she was just makin’ noises in her sleep. Ellie felt a cool rag against her forehead. She wanted to smile but she didn’t want her mother to know she was alert. She wondered how much time had passed but she was able to determine that she was in the RV in the far back bedroom which explained why it was so stuffy. She hated being back there, even when they could run the generator, it never got cool enough for her. She heard footsteps and realized that her mother must have left and come back.  
“I just don’t know why she felt the need to provoke Tyler, she knows he has PTSD. She talks so much about how we all have to be so sensitive to her and her you’d think she could be understanding of someone else’s needs.” Ellie inadvertently dug her fingers into Reagan’s hand. Reagan looked down at her and Ellie’s eyes were open a crack, and she gave her the slightest head shake, that sent it spinning and then let her eyes fall shut again.  
“Mom, why don’t you sit with Katie. I’ve got this under control in here. And it’s so muggy in here with any extra people. I’ll come get you as soon as she wakes up, ok?”  
“I really should. Katie Jo has just been beside herself since Tyler disappeared. I really hope Curtis and your dads can find him.”  
“They will.” Reagan assured her with a smile. She dipped the rag into water and wiped it over Ellie’s forehead again. “Hey.”  
“Hey.” Ellie croaked, not recognizing the dry rasp that came out. “Wha.. ha..p..nn.d?”  
“We all heard you an’ Tyler and Katie screamin’ and came outside and saw him. Curtis got him off of you but you’d already lost consciousness.” Ellie shook her head and felt everything start to spin and she thought she was going to throw up. She closed her eyes and wrapped her teeth around her lips, trying to force the nausea away. She squeezed Reagan’s arm gratefully when she felt the cold cloth against her face again. When Ellie got her bearings again, she opened her eyes and lifted her hand to Reagan’s face.  
“That?” Ellie croaked.  
“Oh.” Reagan touched her fingers gingerly touching the bruise under her left eye. “It was an accident.” She answered dismissively.  
“Bull shit.” Ellie’s nostrils flared as she sucked in an agitated breath and struggled to sit up again, but her head swam and she closed her eyes again. “Bull shit.” She repeated.   
“It was an accident.” Reagan insisted. “I heard you guys first and I ran out there. I yelled for Curtis and everything just happened so fast. Tyler didn’t mean to…” she trailed off. “I’m not defendin’ him-not after what he did to Katie Jo-or you. But he didn’t mean to hit me. Curtis hit him so hard he knocked him out though.”   
Ellie thought she saw the faintest hint of a smile cross Reagan’s lips at that admission. But she knew her sister well enough to know that the only bright spot in all that chaos that Reagan would find in all this would be Curtis and his unwavering protectiveness.  
“You ok?”  
“I’m fine.” Reagan assured her with a smile.   
“How long was I out?”  
Reagan fixed Ellie a glass of water and helped hold her head up so she could take a sip. “Easy.” Reagan cautioned. “About a day.”  
“Katie Jo’s really worried about you. She’s so upset that he hurt you. She’s been hovering, but she’s afraid you’ll wake up when she’s here.”  
“You’re just sayin’ that.”  
“I’m not!” Reagan protested. “She and Tyler got into another fight about it and that’s when he took off.”   
Ellie tried to sit up and everything around her started to spin.   
“You need to rest.” Reagan continued maternally noticing the look that came across Ellie’s face. “You probably have a concussion Curtis said. You need to lie right here until he gets back and can check on you.”   
Ellie rolled her eyes, “Such a boy scout.” She scoffed affectionately, but her head was pounding so hard it felt like her eyeballs would burst out of her skull so she didn’t argue anymore.


End file.
